National Affairs: Guilty

Oscar Collazo, the sad-eyed little Puerto Rican nationalist, had virtually no defense to offer for his part in last November’s wild-eyed plot to assassinate President Truman. He could only insist that he and his fellow conspirator, Griselio Torresola (who died during the furious gun battle on the Blair House sidewalk), had no intention of shooting the President; they were simply staging a demonstration in behalf of Puerto Rican independence. In Washington federal court last week, the jury took only one ballot to decide on its verdict: guilty of the premeditated murder of White House Guard Leslie Coffelt. Because there was no recommendation of clemency, Collazo faces death in the electric chair.