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The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 3

Publication:
The Boston Globei
Location:
Boston, Massachusetts
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3
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Boston Evening Globe Monday, March 7, 1977 Killer, 74, bids for freedom after 50 years of confinement "We have no objection to him being let out. But we do object to the overruling of a fair verdict. Basically this is a matter for the parole board." Ally. John Doherty Tie national anthem ditch it for another? Judge Donahue's decision that Nolin appealed to the Supreme Court Atty. John Doherty, representing the Commonwealth, said in an interview that the government's argument would be there was no error in trial, that the district attorney's office is not opposed to Nolin's release, but that it should be done by the State Parole Board and not the court "We have no objection to him being let out," Doherty said.

"But we do object to the overruling of a fair verdict Basically this is a matter for the parole board." On five occasions, the parole board has acted adversely on Nolin's applications for freedom. Riley said Nolin has an opportunity to become associated with the Salvation Army if he is released from prison. An affidavit by Nolin on file in the Supreme Court states that he wrote many letters to his lawyer of 1927 inquiring about the progress of an appeal but never received an answer. "By the time I learned that he had not, in fact, filed my appeal, it was too late for me to do so," Nolin said. phone in Florida last wtek, he said: "It's not the most comfortable thing in the world to sing, but it has a certain character to it that expresses the country.

It has zip to it I guess Tm conventional." Banner defenders argue that it is recognized around the world as the US anthem, has spirit and is rooted in American history. Critics point out that the melody, which ranges an octave and a half, is for most untrained voices. One critic admitted he can reach the high notes only after he has lubricated his vocal chords with a few beers. It's no wonder, he reflected, that the melody was written originally as a drinking song. Reed was charged with murder, but was acquitted.

Cwikla was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact of second degree murder. She testified against Nolin and her case was filed. They had been joyriding and drinking on the day that Griffin was shot, she testified. She said they rode in the Lawrence area, then to Groveland, where Nolin lived, and then to store in Bradford where Nolin said he intended to make a purchase. After the shooting the three fled to Connecticut where they were arrested separately.

A gun found at the time of Nolin's arrest was identified as the one used to shoot Griffin. There was testimony that when Griffin was shown a police "mug shot" of Nolin, he said: "That's the man who shot me." On Oct 7, 1927, Nolin, who had been in custody since his arrest, was sentenced to life in prison. He claims in his appeal that his attorney in 1927 had assured him that he would appeal the conviction but never took action. In a legal belief, Nolin's present attorney, Richard M. Riley of Lynn, pointed out that a decision by the Supreme Court to delay the proceedings or refer the case to the State Appeals Court would be the equivalent of a denial of due process and a prolongment of "cruel and unusual punishment" because of Nolin's 74 years.

Nolin is appealing a decision by Judge Roger J. Donahue who ruled in Essex Superior Court in Lawrence on Feb. 25, 1976, that the evidence presented against Nolin in 1927 as shown in newspaper accounts was overwhelmingly against Nolin and that he had received a fair trial in the same courtroom where his appeal was heard. Since no official transcript of Nolin's trial was available, Judge Donahue allowed the use of newspaper accounts written by J. Joseph Moran, retired managing editor of the Haverhill Gazette, when he was a reporter.

Even by today's more stringent standards, Judge Donahue observed, Nolin received a fair trial. It was after By Richard J. Connolly Globe Staff The Studebaker touring car, with the headlights on, the engine running and the window curtains tied back, was parked in the snow in front of Griffin's Food Shop at 78 South Elm st.f in the Bradford section of Haverhill. Fifty years ago tonight 8:45 p.m. Monday, March 7, 1927.

Herman Reed, 20, clutched the steering wheel nervously. Beside him sat his girlfriend, Mary Cwikla, 18. They watched the store impatiently. "Why dosen't he come out?" Reed asked. "What's keeping him so long?" Suddenly a "CRACK!" "There goes the shot," Reed said.

"He ought to have known better than to have done that" Leo J. Nolin, 24, carrying a black Colt .32 caliber automatic, ran from the store and squeezed into the front seat. "Let's get away," he advised Reed. "Let's go. I just shot a man." "What in hell did you do that for?" Reed asked.

"Well," Nolin said, "he wouldn't give me any money." The storekeeper, William H. Griffin, 60, died two days later. The bullet struck him in the back and emerged through his abdomen, damaging his intestines. While on the operating table, he was shown a single "rogues galley" photograph of Nolin and identified him as the gunman. Convicted of second degree murder, Nolin was sentenced to life in prison.

Now, after 50 years of confinement-much longer than most murder defendants serve he has asked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to grant "him a new trial and thus allow his freedom. Nolin's appeal is scheduled for consideration tomorrow and since he is the sole survivor of the principal figures in the 1927 case, the granting of a new trial would have the effect of freeing Nolin from Norfolk Prison Colony. By LJse Bang-Jensen Special to The Globe On July 4, 1976, nearly a half million people lined the banks of the Charles to celebrate America's 200th birthday with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Thousands of voices joined in singing a medley of patriotic songs, including American the Beautiful, This Land Is Your Land and The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It was an unabashed display of patriotism, a symbol that, after a decade of war and Watergate, the nation's wounds were healing and that the mostly under-30 crowd didn't feel self-conscious about singing their country's praise.

Then the orchestra struck up The Star Spangled Banner, and thousands mouthed the lyrics, or stood mute. Bra'er voices faltered trying to scale the higher notes of "the rockets' red glare." Last week the national anthem suffered another humiliating blow. The people of Putney, Vt, voted 87-64 at their town meeting to replace The Star Spangled Banner as anthem with America the Beautiful. Julie Rosegrant, 72, sponsor of the explained: "I've been bothered for a long time by the fact that it (The Banner) is unsingable and warlike." The Star Spangled Banner became the national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931. Ever since then its detractors have advocated ditch ing it for other tunes or, short of that, lowering it a key.

Give us an anthem we can sing, they plead. Military might and jingoism are common themes of national anthems of foreign countries, like La Marseillaise, which reportedly half the popu- lation of France can't sing. Britain's anthem, God Save the Queen, is unusually flexible. The lyrics automatically change when there's a male monarch on the throne. Change the lyrics again and you have either America (My country, 'tis of thee) or the German Empire's Heil dir im Siegerkranz.

The following are patriotic songs mentioned in the debate over the US national anthem. The Star Spangled Banner The War of 1812 was still going on in 1814 when Francis Scott Key, a Baltimore lawyer, "watched through the night" the British bombardment of Fort McHenry and "by the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air," glimpsed the "broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight," until "by dawn's early light" he saw "that our flag was still there." Key, who reportedly was tone deaf, jotted down his impressions on the back of a letter, and later his poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, Anacreon in Heaven. That jovial song ends "And besides, I'll instruct ye, like me, to entwine The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus' vine." The Banner has been the nation's official anthem only since 1931. Last July Key's great-great-great-grand- daughter Constance Ailard agreed with critics: "Frankly, I think it's an-awful song for a national anthem. It's practically impossible for anybody to sing it." Boston Pops maestro Arthur Fiedler disagrees.

Interviewed by tele MBTA weighs Arlington Red Line 1 1 JUDGE ROGER J. DONAHUE Nolin trial fair ferred to state prison at Walpole so he could file for parole. But his petition was rejected by the parole board. He said he filed an appeal for a new trial Sept. 24, 1971, at Essex superior Court but no action was taken.

A second motion was filed Aug. 26, 1975, and Atty. Riley was appointed to represent him. The court's psychiatrist confirmed Nolin's competency to stand trial Riley claims that Nolin was not giv--en a fair trial in 1927 because of extensive pre-trial publicity and the improper admission of evidence. He cited the original lawyer's failure to file an appeal and certain errors by the trial judge.

The lawyer said the judge failed to exclude from testimony the fact that Griffin, the victim, had identified Nolin's photograph. It is required today that victims of crimes be shown more than one photograph. The lawyer argues that Griffin was not sufficiently advised that he faced death at the time he was shown the photo. He was told by a doctor that his chances for recovery were "slim" but he was on the operating table, the lawyer said, "when his mental posture could well have been for recovery." It was virtually impossible, Riley said, for Nolin to have received a fair trial in view of the extensive front-page coverage of the trial. Ironically, Judge Donahue relied on the same newspaper stories to reach his decision that the trial had been fair and the re-typed stories form the "transcript" for the Su- rirnmo Pniirt tn oniric thr fatp nf Nnlin.

vote MBTA CHAIRMAN KILEY 2. It tne above had to Be done in phases, which would you support? 2a. The Red linerapid transit extension into Arlington completely underground to a station at Arlington Center and continuing underground to a station at Arlington HeightsEast Lexington with a temporary terminus at that point. Yes No 7578. 2b.

The Red Linerapid transit extension into Arlington as far as Arlington Center completely underground with a tempo rary terminus at tnat point, res iuw. wo sruo. 3. Do you support ending the Red Linerapid transit at Alewife Brook Parkway with a permanent terminus at that point? Yes 2195. No 9841.

think, though, we have a pretty good chance with the Rate Setting Commission. They've been very fair." In different levels of classroom work, the children ages 5 to 18 are learning things that are accepted easily by outsiders. Things that mean all the difference in the world to young human beings cheated by nature out of a normal existence. Some kids learn to print their names. Some- learn to write down a phone number.

Others learn to speak. And others find out how to fill out a job application for a position that might offer them a feeling of dignity. Their immediate future rests within the one word "money." And so does the fate of the Cardinal Cushing School. Last week, the day before the Rate Setting Commission met, there appeared in the papers a story about Congress approving $10 million for a new school project at Tufts. The New England Governors added another $100,000 to that sum.

The new school is going to be a Regional Veterinary Medical School. There, dogs, cats and horses will be treated well. Davis Square, Somerville, also Alewife Brook parkway, Arlington Center and Arlington Heights-East Lexington, all in Arlington. Proponents of Red Line expansion included Arlington's Board of Selectmen and the Redevelopment Board. Opponents were well organized.

They distributed fliers and bumper stickers and mounted a last-minute telephone campaign by 262 volunteers to counter the MBTA's mailings. "I'm thrilled," said Rep. John F. Cu-sack (D-Arlington), a leader of the opposition. "It shows that the people can beat the machine.

If the MBTA comes to Arlington Center, it'll be in the courts. I'll lead the move to put it in the courts." Many residents in the community of 55,000 rallied behind a task force set up by St. Agnes Church and a group called ALARM (Arlington Red Line Action Movement). "The issues were the quality of life and the irreversible transformation we thought would happen," Vincent A. Fulmer, an MIT economist and activist America the Beautiful This majestic song celebrating the nation's beauty was written in 1895 by Katharine Lee Bates, who taught at Wellesley College.

Like the Banner, its tune was lifted. It came from the hymn "Dear Mother of Jerusalem," composed by Samuel A. Ward. It would make an appropriate national anthem, supporters say, because it hails freedom and beauty and would serve as a reminder of the ravaging of nation's environment. The song lacks pizazz, critics argue, and is hardly the way to rouse a stadium of football fans.

It may be singable, but it isn't much fun, they say. God Bless America Irving Berlin wrote God Bless America while serving as an Army sergeant during World War I but didn't release it until 1938. Rather than profit from his patriotism, he assigned all royalties for the song to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scounts, netting them about a half-million dollars. The song is a favorite among sports fans when it has replaced the Star Spangled Banner as the pre-game vocal warmup for spectators. Critics call it sanctimonious and a breach of the constitutional separation of church and state.

A defender retorted: "Believe me, America needs all the help it can get from God." Critics point out that Berlin engaged in a little plagiarism himself, lifting the words "home, sweet home" from an earlier song. The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Julia Ward Howe, a New Yorker transplanted to Boston, wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic after visiting Washington during the Civil War. She had seen Northern soldiers marching to the song John Brown's Body which is based on the spiritual Glory, Hallelujah, and a friend challenged her to write more suitable words for the rousing marching tune. The Hymn, despite its religious overtones, is considered a patriotic song and was played at Winston Churchi'I funeral, in honor of his American mother.

Rudyard Kipling found it the greatest of all martial anthems, and some think it is as musically powerful as La Marseillaise, but detractors reject its emphasis on war and religious themes. from my comments. On Nov. 20, 1928, while confined to the old State Prison in Charlestown, Nolin said, he was falsely accused of being involved in the murder of a prison guard. Although no charges were pressed against him, he spent the next six years in segregated custody "without means of contacting the outside world." "After about six years.

I was totally frustrated and resentful of my treatment," Nolin said," and I flooded certain portions of the prison by turning the water faucets on and leaving them on. "I was thereafter sent to Bridgewa-ter State Hospital for 30 days observation and spent the next 35 years there," he said. "I was always advised that I could not procure any release by parole or even file any pleadings," Nolin said. On April 8, 1970, Nolin was trans- in ALARM, said. "We doubted that Arlington should be chopped up." Proponents argue that the project would reduce auto traffic between Arlington and Boston and would attract new homes and businesses to the town.

Opponents predict increased congestion with a Red Line terminus and estimate the extension would cost Arlington residents $350 a year more in property taxes by 1983. "It's possible the MBTA could say, 'You people in Arlington are too much and we'll spend the money Chairman Arthur D. Saul chairman of the selectmen, that's not a realistic approach to transportation needs. This (extension) is a reasonable solution." Cusack said the Legislature's Transportation Committee has given a favorable report to his bill that would prohibit the MBTA from extending the Red Line into Arlington unless the full Legislature approves. Here are the questions and votes from Saturday: 1 Do you support the extension of the Red Linerapid transit through the Town ot Arlington completely "nrground and ultimately to Route 128 with stations at Alewite Brook Parkway, Arlington Center and Arlington HeightsEast Lexington? Yes 5143.

No 8206. nirW and choose their own assign ments and we've had to hire lay staff to replace them." "What happens if you don't get the higher rate?" he was asked. "Well, we've been making up the difference between the current tuition and our own costs with money from our endowment. That used to be about $700,000. That will be gone in June," he said.

"And, after that's gone, I don't know. We need the new rate." On Thursday last, the Rate Setting Commission met in Boston to help decide the fate of the Cardinal Cushing School. A decision was put off until later this week when the school will supply the commission's members with more material to document its needs. Meanwhile, the needs of the neglected are being met each day in a school that is one of the few places able to offer a ray of hope and a shot at a half way decent life for kids who, might find themselves in a hellhole for the forgotten. This would be a state institution.

"We're not going to be able to survive," says John Sheyne. 'Under the present tuition rate that's been set there's no way we can continue. I BARMCLE By Jerry Taylor Globe Staff Arlington voters have rejected the MBTA's plan to extend Red Line rapid transit service through their town, leaving anti-expansionists jubilant but also leaving questions as to what effect, if any, the nonbinding referendum results will have on the Transportation Authority. "It's too early to say," Don Eagles, an MBTA spokesman said, when asked whether the Authority would modify its plans in light of Saturday's expression of voter sentiment. MBTA Chairman Robert R.

Kiley and his advisory board will "analyze the results to see how representative they are" before commenting publicly, Eagles said. The MBTA plans to extend the Red Line from Harvard Square, Cambridge, 6.4 miles to Arlington Heights and to Rte. 128 in Lexington. The proposed initial phase would cost $380 million, 80 percent to -be paid by the US Urban Mass Transit Administration. New Red Line stations would be built at Porter Square, Cambridge, MIKE Up on the second floor of the Cardinal Cushing School in Hanover, the sunlight was finding its way through the windows and filling the rooms where small children sat on classroom chairs.

The children's faces would wrinkle with a smile and more than a touch of pride as they answered questions from the teacher. "What season comes after winter?" the teacher asked. "Spring," some of the children shouted. "And what happens when spring comes?" "Grass green," a girl, about 12, answered in an excited voice. The Cardinal Cushing School is home for 150 children; all of them living in the shadowed existence that America calls mental retardation.

And what they get here schooling, care and a large portion of hope is not that available for kids the system much prefers to forget. Like a lot of other things in this life that are more than worthwhile, the Cardinal Cushing School is in danger of going out of business. Money, the lack of it, is the problem. "We have 150 children here," John' YOUR OPINION Readers are invited to write The Globe suggesting which song should be the US national anthem. Other songs or original efforts may be offered.

Readers replies will be published next week. This coupon can be put in an envelope or pasted to a postal card and sent to The Globe Forum, Boston Globe, Boston, Mass. 02107. It should be mailed by noon on Thursday, March 10, to assure being counted. I think the US national anthem should be; (check one) The Star Spangled Banner 1i America the Beautiful God Bless America The Battle Hymn of the Republic Other (name) Sheyne, the school's director was saying.

"130 are residential students. "The state Rate Setting Commission sets a funding rate that we have to go by and, above which, no town can pay any more. Right now we have 80 kids being paid out of the state Ch. 766 funds and 50 being paid for by welfare. They reimburse us for the tuition costs.

"20 more pay either out of private funding or are paid for by out of state agencies. These 20 pay our full tuition which is currently set at $7900." The kids who come under Ch. 766 go to the Cushing School at a tuition rate of $6950. Under welfare, the rate is $6557. John Sheyne and the others who help run the school have asked the Rate Setting Commission to boost the reimbursable tuition rate up to $10,200 a year.

This, if set, would still be well below the average cost per pupil in state-run facilities for the retarded, most of which resemble old factories. "We were always, able to keep our rates relatively low because of the fact we had so many nuns working here," Sheyne said. "But with the changes in the church over the last, few years, the sisters are now able to Comment Name- Address Phone (for confirmation only). I authorize The Globe to use quotations Yes No.

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