Convicting the Innocent: Errors of Criminal Justice
(1932)
by Edwin M. Borchard
Case #8
Benjamin Collins
MASSACHUSETTS
During July, August, and the early part of September, 1928,
there were about forty successful and unsuccessful attempts at bag snatching
from women in Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. The snatcher confined
his efforts to no particular part of the city, requiring only that the scene
be a poorly lighted thoroughfare or a side street. Such a reign of terror
existed among the women of the city that the police put about fifty
plainclothes men on the case.
The method of operation was practically the same in all instances. The
snatcher usually chose Saturday night for his activities. He never molested
men or boys and did not hesitate to use violence if resistance were made.
Secreting himself behind a fence or hedge in a yard having easy access to
the street, he remained hidden until his intended victim had passed. Then he
crept after her and, at an opportune moment, snatched the bag. Immediately
after obtaining it, he dashed back into the yard in which he had been
concealed and through it into an alley or street a block away. Often, though
not always, he discarded the bag, keeping only the contents.
The snatching was always done from behind, so that the victim did not get a
clear view of the snatcher.
The descriptions of the snatcher, as given by the victims, were practically
the same except for a few details. The man always wore a cap, looked about
thirty years old, and usually appeared in working clothes. Some remarked
upon his speed and agility in making his get-away as contrasted with his
stocky build.
So when, on September 1, another bag was snatched from the hands of Miss
Mildred King of West Somerville, and a man named Benjamin F. Collins – who
in height and build and cap fitted the reputed description – was found on
the street a few blocks away twenty minutes thereafter, it was believed that
at last the elusive criminal had been caught.
Upon being questioned by the police, he stated that he worked as a
dishwasher at the Woodbridge Hotel on College Avenue in West Somerville, and
that, as it was a hot day, he had gone out on the street to a soda fountain
to get a glass of ginger ale. He was searched, and only five or ten cents
was found on him, though. Miss King's purse had contained $5.25 in money,
and a $10 fountain pen. Collins' room was then searched, but none of the
stolen purses could be found, nor any of the articles said to have been in
them.
But as Collins happened to answer the general description of the thief, he
was taken to the Somerville police station and held for identification by
the victims. Several of them came, and identified Collins as the man who had
taken their purses. Collins was presented to each woman separately, and each
said that he was the man.
The police did not believe that they had the right man, as the circumstances
of the case were in Collins' favor. None of the goods had been found in his
possession. He was well liked and trusted where he worked, and had no
criminal record, though not much was known about him, as he had recently
come from Lowell and was a rather quiet and unobtrusive person. He gave his
age as forty-five, and it was established that he was the sole support of
his aged mother. Officer Augustin J. Fitzpatrick, who had charge of the
investigation for the Somerville police, repeatedly told Assistant District
Attorney Richard S. McCabe, who conducted the prosecution, that he did not
think that Collins was the man they were hunting.
But as five of the victims had positively identified Collins as the culprit,
he had to be brought to trial. Three indictments were returned against him
by the Grand Jury on September 10, one charging larceny and two robbery.
There were seven counts in the larceny indictment, in which he was accused
of having grabbed the hand bags of seven women between the fifteenth of July
and the first of September. The hand bags were valued at from $3.00 to $7.00
and contained various amounts of money, ranging from $1.75 to $27.00, and
numerous trinkets, fountain pens, notebooks, and other articles. On the
robbery indictments, he was charged with taking a $2.00 hand bag and $5.00
in money from one woman, and a $5.00 hand bag, $3.00 in money, and two sets
of rosary beads worth $4.00 from another woman.
Collins was kept in the Somerville jail from the time he was arrested on
September 1 until the time of his trial on October 23. He was unable to
raise the required $10,000 bail. The delay in his trial was due to the fact
that Collins' original attorney was taken sick and was sent to a
tuberculosis sanatorium. He was then represented by Hon. Francis C. Zacharer
of Lowell.
At the trial several of the witnesses did not appear against him, one
because of old age, and another because of sickness. However, both of these
had identified him at the police station. The identifying witnesses were
Carrie M. Decker, Cecelia Ketter, and Mildred King of West Somerville, and
Marion P. Jackson and Catherine Davis of Medford. They all positively
identified Collins again, Mrs. Decker being particularly positive, so much
so that the others may have been influenced by her assurance.
Collins took the stand in his own defense and denied that he had taken their
bags and reiterated what he had said when arrested, namely, that he was
employed as a dishwasher at the Woodbridge Hotel and had left only for a few
minutes to buy a glass of ginger ale. Margaret Gleason, who also worked at
the hotel, corroborated the statement that he had been at work all morning,
as did Florence A. Fitz, another hotel employee. Arthur F. Downs of Lowell
appeared for him as a character witness. Officer Fitzpatrick also testified
to Collins' original story when arrested and to the fact that none of the
bags or their contents had been found on Collins or in his room.
The jury found him guilty on one robbery charge, not guilty on the other,
and guilty on four counts of larceny; and on October 23 he was sentenced by
the judge of the Superior Court for East Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hon.
Patrick M. Keating, to two and a half to three and a half years on the
robbery charges.
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On the Saturday following the sentence, October 27, another
hand bag was grabbed from a woman in the same general neighborhood where the
others had been taken. This time,
after a hot pursuit, the man was shot by the police while trying to escape.
His name was George Hill. He had on him
some of the stolen articles.
Hill's room in Medford was searched, and many of the hand bags which had
been taken, as well as many of the
trinkets, were recovered. For example, one bag had contained two books of
stamps and a notebook with a loose five-cent stamp inside. These were found
in Hill's room.
On the Monday following, October 29, these facts were brought to the
attention of District Attorney Bushnell; and
the District Attorney and his assistant, Mr. McCabe, who had tried the case,
went to the state prison and informed
Collins that a motion for a new trial was being drawn by his
attorney, and that the District Attorney would nol-pros the case.
On the thirtieth of October, Collins was brought into court, a motion for a
new trial on the larceny charge was allowed, and then a nolle prosequi
entered by the District Attorney. On the robbery charge on which he had been
sentenced, a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a new trial were filed
and allowed, and the District Attorney entered a nolle prosequi.
Later Hill was brought up for trial and pleaded guilty
to having taken the bags of the women who testified against Collins. He was
sentenced to the state prison, where he died
of septic poisoning as a result of his wound.
After Collins' release, various news items appeared reporting the comments
of the five women who had identified Collins. Three of them still maintained
that Collins was the man who had stolen their bags; the other two thought
they might be mistaken.
The police records of each of the men read as follows:
Collins
48 years
5 ft. 6 1/4 ins.
173 lbs.
light complexion
brown hair
blue eyes
prominent nose
Hill
30 years
5 ft. 6 1/2 ins.
176 lbs.
dark complexion
black hair
brown eyes
very prominent nose
Both men were further described as having worn dark clothes and gray cap.
Collins walked in a shuffling manner, while Hill was very active, having a
quick gait and athletic appearance. Collins was of the easy-going,
indifferent type, while Hill was of arrogant, sarcastic disposition, and was
considered one of the most despicable criminals known to the department.
When he was told that an innocent man was in prison because of his
activities, he still denied that he was responsible for the crimes, and only
confessed when confronted by overwhelming evidence.
A bill was introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature to compensate Collins
to the extent of $1,000 for the injury that had been done him, but the
compensation was denied, one argument being that the state could not be
required to bear expenses which ought properly to fall upon the counties.
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Again we have a case of sheer mistaken identification by the victims of a
crime, as in the Beck, Greenwald, and Preston cases. The opportunity for
observing Collins must have been of the most fleeting kind, yet the
positiveness of witnesses is sometimes, as in this case, in inverse ratio to
their opportunity for knowledge or to their reliability. In this case,
contrary to the usual rule, it was the police who were skeptical, and yet,
but for the reoccurrence of the same crime, manifestly by another offender,
as in the cases of Andrews, Beck, and Greenwald, it is doubtful whether
Collins would have been freed. It is unfortunate that the Legislature was
unwilling to repair the damage done by the courts of the state.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Records of the case in the Court House, East Cambridge, Mass.
2. A summary of the facts and the police record obtained through Sergeant
Augustin Fitzpatrick.
3. Acknowledgments: Hon. Richard S. McCabe; Hon. J. D. McLaughlin.
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