Unconvicting the Innocent

Abstract

"INNOCENT MAN IS UNABLE TO CLEAR RECORD AFTER 71/2 YEARS IN PRISON." Under this headline, the New York Times recently reported the courthouse tragedy of Nathan Kaplan, 49-year-old salesman. ' Mr. Kaplan's brush with the law began on September 28, 1937, when the Federal Government indicted him under the name of Nathan Kaplan, alias "Kitty," for the sale of heroin to a government undercover agent. Although he vigorously proclaimed his innocence from the day of his arrest, he did not take the witness stand at his trial. He was represented by able counsel and other due process requirements were fully observed. His defense was that Max Kaplan, alias "Brownsville Kitty," then a fugutive, had committed the crime. Mistaken identity was thus the central issue.