R L CRAVEN, Sworn In For The State, 166th To Testify

R. L. Craven, witness for the State in rebuttal, at the Trial of Leo Frank in the Fulton County Superior Court of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913 (Testimony Portion From July 28 - August 21, 1913; Closing Arguments August 21-25, 1913)
R. L. Craven, an employee of Beck & Gregg Hardware Co. and colleague of Albert McKnight, testified that Albert asked him to help release Minola McKnight from jail. Craven went to Solicitor Dorsey for that purpose. He was present when Minola signed State’s Exhibit J (her affidavit).
On June 3, Craven and Pickett visited the police station at 11:30 a.m. and questioned Minola for two hours. Initially, she denied everything, claiming she knew nothing. Craven repeated Albert’s claims:

Frank came home, stayed 10 minutes, went to the sideboard, and left,
Minola overheard Mrs. Frank tell Mrs. Selig that Frank didn’t sleep, drank heavily, made Mrs. Frank sleep on a rug, and demanded his pistol to “shoot his head off” because he had “murdered somebody.”

Minola eventually confirmed these details. The affidavit was taken in the presence of Starnes, Campbell, February, Albert, Pickett, and attorney Gordon.
On cross-examination, Craven admitted:

He did not know Minola had been held 12 hours,
Dorsey said she was hysterical and wouldn’t talk,
He questioned her to verify Albert’s story, not to secure her release,
He never followed up on getting her out,
No threats or mistreatment occurred in his presence,
He did not ask detectives to release her.

This testimony was offered to authenticate Minola’s affidavit and counter coercion claims, but cross-examination revealed the interrogation’s purpose was to align her statement with Albert’s, and Craven abandoned efforts to free her after obtaining the desired confession.