The Lie That Kept a Father in Jail
Clara Sellers, 13, recants her incest charge, freeing A. Sellers after seven months—but not before he sold his farm to pay for his defense.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
COLFAX, Nov. 23.—Clara Sellers, 13 years old, who charged her father, A. Sellers, of St. John, with incest, has confessed she had lied and that her father is innocent. Sellers has been in the county jail since April 20, and was to have been tried today.
At the preliminary hearing held before Justice Davis at St. John last April, Clara swore that her father had committed the crime and gave sickening details. She has told Prosecuting Attorney Hanna that her testimony was false, that her father is innocent and that she had concocted the story in revenge because he had whipped her severely. She insists no one prompted her to tell the story and says she recently joined church, and now realizes it is wrong to lie.
Sellers has been released from the county jail. He is 50 years old and had borne a good reputation. He sold his farm and spent all his money in preparing his defense and is now penniless. His wife died four years ago, leaving four children.
“She has told Prosecuting Attorney Hanna that her testimony was false, that her father is innocent and that she had concocted the story in revenge because he had whipped her severely.”
The case is a reminder that a child's accusation can become irreversible punishment long before trial; Sellers spent months in jail and lost his farm before his daughter recanted. Modern courts still wrestle with recantation, credibility, and the heavy cost of pretrial detention.
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