1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: I'm to bling a chocolate boarding and I'm fair Dowdy 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: And the story we're about to tell happened in Atlanta, 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: actually kind of in our own backyards, but we don't 6 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: feel too self conscious about telling it because this topic 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: has been requested many times by listeners, and that's not surprising. 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: The Leo Frank trial has been called quote, one of 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,319 Speaker 1: the most shocking frame ups ever perpetuated by American law 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: and order officials, and the story involves a Jewish man 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: named Leo Frank being convicted, many think wrongly convicted for 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: the murder of a young girl named Mary Fagin, and 13 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:47,480 Speaker 1: a group of men taking the lawn into their own 14 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: hands and trying to make sure that basically he paid 15 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: the ultimate price for this. But there was much more 16 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: to this story than just these acts and who is 17 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: guilty or not guilty. This was a situation about industrialism 18 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: and the injustices associated with it, race relations, North South tension, 19 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: so a lot of things. So it's no wonder that 20 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: it caught the attention and kind of the emotions of 21 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: the entire nation. But it's still a mystery too in 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: a way. To this day, people still wonder what really 23 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: happened to Mary Fagan. So we're going to take a 24 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 1: look at the crime, the evidence, the trial that ensued. 25 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: But first we're gonna try to talk a little bit 26 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: about the man that ended up at the center of 27 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: all this controversy. Leo Frank. Leo Max Frank was born 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: in Paris, Texas, in eighty four, but his family moved 29 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: to Brooklyn, New York when he was very small, and 30 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: he grew up there. He went to public school, the 31 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: Pratt Institute, and since he was very mechanically minded, he 32 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: got an engineering degree from Cornell University. Now, he worked 33 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: for a brief time with a few different companies, but 34 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: eventually he joined the family business. He went to work 35 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: for his uncle, Moses Frank, who was the principal owner 36 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: of the National Pencil Company, and that company had a 37 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: actor in Atlanta, and in nineteen oh seven Frank was 38 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: made co owner and superintendent of that location of that 39 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: factory and moved down south. So in nineteen ten he 40 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: married a native Atlanta, Lucile Selig, who came from a 41 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: prominent Jewish family and by nineteen thirteen, he had been 42 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: honored by the local Jewish community as one of Atlanta's 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: most promising young businessman, so he looked like he had 44 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,639 Speaker 1: a great future ahead of him. And Atlanta's Jewish community 45 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: wasn't as big as New York's, of course, but it 46 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: was still fairly significant, and it was significant enough that 47 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: Frank probably didn't feel very isolated. He probably didn't worry 48 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: that much about racism. He spent most of his time working, 49 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: so he seemed to be leading a fairly successful, definitely 50 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: peaceful life. Yes, but all of that changed April twenty six, 51 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen. That's when Mary Fagan, who was this strikingly 52 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: beautiful blonde thirteen year old girl from Marietta, Georgia, so 53 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: just outside the city, she stopped by the Fact Street 54 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: to get her pay on the way to a Confederate 55 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: Memorial Day parade. And around this time, the state's economy 56 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: was really undergoing a kind of change. It was going 57 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: from a more agrarian economy to more of an industrial economy. 58 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: So Frank's factory, like many others, employed women and children 59 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: to perform light labor tasks because they could be paid 60 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: lower wages than then, so we're talking like five or 61 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: six dollars a week is what they were taking home. 62 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: So it'd saved the factory some money. And and Mary 63 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: was of course one of these workers, and she was 64 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: even making less than that at the time because she 65 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: was part of the temporary layoffs, so she had only 66 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: worked one day for that entire week and was picking 67 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: up a dollar twenty. So Mary was of course one 68 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: of these low paid workers, and she was even making 69 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: less than five or six dollars a week at the 70 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: time because she was part of a temporary layoff, so 71 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: she had only worked one day that week and was 72 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: only picking up a dollar twenty. So she stopped by 73 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: Frank's office that Saturday, and according to his story, she 74 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: got her money, He paid the bill, and she left 75 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: and she was never seen alive again. Around three am 76 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: the next day, the night watchman new Lee was on 77 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: his way to the Negro toilet, which was located in 78 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: the factory basement, and that's where he found the body 79 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: of a girl near the bottom of an elevator shaft. 80 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: She was so completely covered and sawdust and grime that 81 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: at first it was hard to even tell if she 82 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: was white or black. Her skull was dented and caked 83 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: in blood. Her eyes were bruised, and her cheeks were cut, 84 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 1: and a cord was wrapped around her neck. So at 85 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: this point Lee calls the police. He's afraid they'll suspect him, 86 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: and they come in to inspect the scene, and with 87 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: the help of another worker, they identified the body as 88 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: Mary Fagan. They arrested Lee right away, so his worries 89 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: were correct, and incidentally, he was held without charges four 90 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,679 Speaker 1: months after that. But then the police went to get Frank. 91 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: They wanted to take him along to see the body 92 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: and question him at the site, and it was an 93 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: experience that Frank didn't not handle smoothly, as we'll see later. 94 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: He was disturbed by the side of the body and 95 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: he seemed really nervous to them. So that was kind 96 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: of the beginning of his problems, and they questioned him 97 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: for a long time and then formally arrested him on 98 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: April nine. But things were moving along at at quite 99 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: a clip with this investigation because police were under a 100 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: lot of pressure to find and convict a killer, and 101 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: there had been a series of unsolved murders in Atlanta 102 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 1: during the previous year and a half, so the city 103 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: was really frustrated, frustrated with the police, and they wanted justice, 104 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: and Mary Fagan ended up becoming a kind of symbol 105 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: for them. Initial reports even said that she had been raped. 106 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: That made people even more outraged. So officials moved quickly 107 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: to assemble whatever clues they could that would prove Frank's guilt, 108 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: and this is what they came up with. At first, 109 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: they thought, well, he was really nervous the day after 110 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: the murder, and that seemed suspicious. They were also suspicious 111 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: by the fact that he had called Lee several times 112 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: that night to see if there was any trouble, and 113 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: that was something that he normally did not do. And 114 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: then finally the fact that several employees came forward and 115 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: said that Frank quote indulged in familiarities with a woman 116 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: in his employ and a woman who ran a boarding 117 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: house even claimed that Frank had called her the day 118 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: of the murder, trying to arrange a room for himself 119 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: and a young girl. So this is what police were 120 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: initially acting on. On that last point, in particular, many 121 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: of the witnesses, including the boarding house proprietress, they later 122 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: recanted their accusations, but these same accusations helped Hugh Dorsey, 123 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: who was a prosecutor with pretty big political ambitions, to 124 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: build a case around Frank as this Jewish man who 125 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: was praying on gentile girls for his own pleasure. Four 126 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,119 Speaker 1: weeks later, a grand jury used this information to indict Frank. 127 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: But there were some more clues that came in, clues 128 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 1: let see him a little more promising than the ones 129 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: we already went over. Real clues that seemed to be 130 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: all but ignored ultimately were these two strange notes that 131 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: were scribbled on scraps of yellow paper, and they were 132 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: found near the body, and they're kind of tricky to 133 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: read here, but one of them said, ma'am, that negro 134 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: higher down here did this. I went to make water 135 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: and he pushed me down that whole a long tall 136 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: negro black that who it was, long, slim tall Negro, 137 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: I write while play with me. And the other note, 138 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: also written in this um kind of difficult to follow style, 139 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: said he said he would love me land dab and 140 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: play like the night. Which did it, but that long 141 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: tall black Negro did by hisself. So these unusual notes 142 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: found near the body seemed like a major, major new clue. Yeah, 143 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: and obviously they're confusing because they contained some bad spelling 144 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: and things like that and are hard to read, as 145 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: Sarah said, But they're also contradictory. I mean, the first 146 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: one sort of seems to identify the murderer, and the 147 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: second kind of suggests that the writer was saying he 148 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: was trying to throw some bishion elsewhere. So it was 149 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: very confusing that at least something that seems like it 150 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: should have been pursued. The next piece of evidence was 151 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: also found near the body at the bottom of the 152 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: elevator shaft. It was human excrement, and we're gonna get 153 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: into that a little more later because there are a 154 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: few other clues involving that. But the likely owner of 155 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: said human excrement was a black janitor named Jim Conley, 156 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: and he had been seen washing blood out of a 157 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: shirt at the factory after the murder. So WHOA, that 158 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: sounds like there is a whole another potential suspect involved here. Yes, 159 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: in fact, there was another suspect. Conny was working at 160 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: the factory the day of the murder and even admitted 161 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: to have written those two notes when police arrested and 162 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: questioned him on the matter. But he claimed that Frank 163 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: had dictated the notes to him, so throwing a wrench 164 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: in this whole thing, right, And according to Leonard Dinnerstein 165 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: in American Heritage, the grand jury wanted to reconvene and 166 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: actually charged Connolly instead. But perhaps because of these political 167 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 1: aspirations of Dorsey's and he actually became a governor later, 168 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: we should throw that in action. They did pay off, 169 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: but he wouldn't allow this. He wouldn't allow them to 170 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: reconsider this. We're not really sure how he talked them 171 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,959 Speaker 1: out of it, but dinner Stein suggests that quote given 172 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: Southern values, they may have assumed that no attorney would 173 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: base his case on the word of a black man 174 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: unless the evidence was overwhelming. So basically, the grand jury 175 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: just felt persuaded by Dorothy's dedication to this case. He 176 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: was just so sure that leoh Frank was guilty that 177 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: he was willing to believe even Jim calmly. But regardless 178 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: of how he did it, Dorsey did win out and 179 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: the trial started July nine thirteen in Atlanta. A large 180 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,439 Speaker 1: angry mob showed up in attendance, and they were shouting 181 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: things like hang the Jew, and they weren't just saying 182 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: that outside the doors of the courthouse. They were saying 183 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: things like that in the courtroom. So yeah, it was 184 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: a really intimidating atmosphere to be in. And you have 185 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: to wonder how in the environment they could have chosen 186 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: an unbiased jury, I mean they did choose a jury, 187 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: or how an unbiased jury would remain unbiased true, I mean, 188 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: there were so many tensions going on in this scenario 189 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: at the time. There were class tensions. It was working 190 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: class versus a factory owner race. You know, there was 191 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: anti Semitism going on North versus South since Frank was 192 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: technically a Yankee, and that rubbed people the wrong way. 193 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: So things seemed to be working in Dorsey's favor almost 194 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: and he presented his case. He proposed that Frank killed 195 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: Fagin in a work room outside his office on the 196 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: second floor, and that the body was dragged to an 197 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: elevator and taken to the basement. His argument included witness 198 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: testimony that there were blood spots on the floor there 199 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: and hair on a lathe. But it didn't really make sense. 200 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: There were a lot of holes in this approach. Um, 201 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: here's just an example of a few things. For example, 202 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: UH State biologists had concluded that the hair that was 203 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: found on that lathe wasn't actually Fagin's witnesses also said 204 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: that those blood spots found on the floor or could 205 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: have actually been paint, and the excrement that Sarah mentioned 206 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: earlier would have had to have been mashed when the 207 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: elevator went down. I mean, every time that the elevator 208 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: went down, it completely everything in the bottom right. But 209 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: apparently it wasn't until after the body was discovered that 210 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: that actually occurred, that the excrement was smashed and they 211 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: smelled that tell tale smell. However, Calmly had said that 212 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: he deposited said excrement there before the murder, so it 213 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: didn't add up. But the prosecution's case really revolved around 214 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: Connolly's testimony almost entirely. Interestingly, though he had changed his 215 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: story several times before the trial, he had even signed 216 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 1: four different affidavits, but once he got in there, once 217 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: he got up on the stand, he stuck to his account. 218 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,199 Speaker 1: He didn't waiver. It's very likely that he was coached 219 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: to to give this strong story in front of the court. 220 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: But he claimed that Frank summoned him to his office 221 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: that day, and here's what he had to say his 222 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: eyes were large and they looked right fun and then 223 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: confessed the crime. And uh calmly said that Frank offered, 224 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: but never gave him money to dispose of the body 225 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: and asked Conny if he could write, and once Connley 226 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: city could, Frank dictated the murder notes. So Frank meanwhile 227 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: had two well known attorneys acting in his defense, Luther 228 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: Z Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, and most feel that 229 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: what really hurt their defense is that they weren't able 230 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: to make a dent in Connley's testimony. He just they 231 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: couldn't shake him. He just completely stuck to that story, 232 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: even though he had changed it quite a bit before 233 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: getting into court. And even though Frank had strong character 234 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: witnesses too, and and alibis people to account for his 235 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: whereabouts before, during, and after the murder, the jury still 236 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: found him guilty on September nineteen thirteen, and they only 237 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,479 Speaker 1: took they took less than four hours actually to deliberate 238 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: what had been one of the longest trials in Georgia history, 239 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: so it's not actually their minds were made up. And 240 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: as a result of that, Frank was sentenced to be 241 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: executed on October tenth of that year, but the execution 242 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: was stayed by several ultimately unsuccessful appeals on the part 243 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,559 Speaker 1: of his lawyers, So they made a couple of appeals 244 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: to the Georgia Supreme Court. One upheld the conviction on 245 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,079 Speaker 1: February seventeenth, nineteen fourteen, and another one did the same 246 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: on October fourteenth, nineteen fourteen. His defense lawyers then made 247 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: a habeas corpus petition to the U. S. Supreme Court, 248 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: but the court ended up denying that petition despite the 249 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,960 Speaker 1: fact that there were some strong descents to it, I 250 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: mean Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and Charles Evans among them. 251 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: So there were some people who who were in favor 252 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: of that petition. And while all this legal stuff was 253 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: going on, there were some kind of crazy developments, including 254 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: witnesses taking back those accusations we mentioned that earlier, the 255 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: accusations about Frank's alleged sexual deviations, and also Conny's girlfriend 256 00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: came into the picture. She came to the picture and 257 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: gave some testimony about Conley's own sexual perversion so to speak. 258 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: And Connley's own lawyer told Judge Rone, who had been 259 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: the trial judge, that Conny had confessed the murder to him. 260 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: So that seems like a pretty damning new piece of evidence, 261 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: I would say if there's an actual confession. But but 262 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: that had actually come to light during the appeals process, 263 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: so we should mention that it didn't really make a 264 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: difference in his appeal. He would have had to get 265 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: a retrial or something for that to have an effect. 266 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: But the last few appeal, the final appeal was made 267 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: to Governor John M. Slayton, whose term was almost up 268 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: by this point, and he listened to both sides. He 269 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: studied the records, he visited the scene, and he also 270 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: considered all these new things that we we've mentioned. And 271 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: after struggling with it for twelve days and it wasn't 272 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: going to take him four hours twelve days of thinking 273 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: it over, Slayton commuted Frank sentence to life imprisonment on 274 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: June twenty one, nineteen fifteen. And he he knew how 275 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: how serious that decision was. He told his wife, it 276 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: made mean my death or worse. But I've ordered the 277 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: sentence commuted. And as he suspected, it was a very 278 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: unpopular decision. There were demonstrations about it, there were vandalism, 279 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: took place against Jewish homes and stores around the city 280 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: and uh Frank had then moved already by this point 281 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: to a prison at Millageville, which was supposedly more secure, 282 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: except that after Flayton's reversal of the decision, it it 283 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: didn't prove the cure at all. No, while he was there, 284 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: an inmate cut Frank's throat and they were able to 285 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: save him. But while he was recovering, on August sixteenth, 286 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, a group of twenty five vigilantes from Marietta 287 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: drove out to the prison, overpowered the guards and took 288 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: Frank with them back to Marietta, which was a pretty 289 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: long drive. So they took him back to where Mary 290 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: Fagin was from, and there a lynch mob watched as 291 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: they hung him from an oak tree. And all this 292 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: time during the drive back and before they hung him, 293 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: they truly tried to get him to confess, but he 294 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: never did. He just asked for his wedding ring to 295 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: be sent to his wife. So after the lynching, locals 296 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: knew the identities of the men involved, but they were 297 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: never prosecuted, and the men who didn't even sort of 298 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: used it as a rallying cry as a point of pride. 299 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: They called themselves the Knights of Mary Fagin, and the 300 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: girl's name just alone became a rally and cry for 301 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: the resurgence of the ku Klux Klan in the area. Um. 302 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 1: It was something that that people still dwelled on even 303 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 1: even a few years after. Yeah, a few years after, 304 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: and some people still debate about this up until today. 305 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: I mean they still debate over whether Frank was actually 306 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: guilty or innocent. Many historians seem to believe in his 307 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: innocence and Frankly, I mean, if you look at a 308 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: lot of sources um for material about this case, they 309 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,359 Speaker 1: seemed to lean that way that he was wrongly accused. 310 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: In two an old black man named Alonso Man, who 311 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 1: worked at Frank's factory as a child, came for word 312 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: and said that he'd seen Calmly drag Mary Fagan's corpse 313 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: to the basement. But he kept silent about it because 314 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: Calmly at the time had threatened to kill him. And 315 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:10,360 Speaker 1: I think he even went to his mom and told 316 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 1: her what had happened, and she was like, don't get involved. 317 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: So this didn't come to light until the eighties. On 318 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: March eleven nine six, the Georgia State Board of Pardon 319 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,920 Speaker 1: and Paroles posthumously pardoned Frank, But as dinner Stein's piece 320 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: points out, this doesn't exactly exonerate him for the crime. 321 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: It was granted quote in recognition of the state's failure 322 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 1: to protect the person of Leo Frank and thereby preserve 323 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: his opportunity of continued legal appeal of his conviction, and 324 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: in recognition of the state's failure to bring his killers 325 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: to justice, and as an effort to heal old wounds. 326 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: So it was basically to give him back his civil 327 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: rights in a sense. And I thought it was interesting 328 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: to talk about this case because I don't I mean, 329 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 1: it is so often suggested to us. I guess a 330 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: lot of people do know about it. But for a 331 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: podcast called stephy misson history class with something that I 332 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: have had in almost every history class, I mean, from 333 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: Georgia history in middle school to high school US history 334 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: to college. It's really heavily taught here in Georgia and see, 335 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: and I hadn't learned anything about it growing up, oh 336 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,439 Speaker 1: in in another state. So maybe it is um something 337 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: that Georgia and Georgians are are especially concerned with with 338 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: studying and make sure we don't forget this. Um certainly 339 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: this crime against somebody's civil liberties. But I'm curious to 340 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: hear from some of you, um, whether it's something that 341 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: you learned, if you're from Georgia, whether you learned in history, 342 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: or if you are from another state or from another country, 343 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,880 Speaker 1: whether you you got taught this case. Yeah, and I'm 344 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: interested to really hear what people think about whether Leo 345 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: Frank was in a center guilty. I know that some 346 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: people still have really passionate opinions about it. I was 347 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: looking up the recent film I think it was from 348 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: two thousand nine called The People Versus Leo Frank, and 349 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: if you just you know, do a regular search for it, 350 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,879 Speaker 1: all these articles come up and just people really passionately 351 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,480 Speaker 1: talking about how they think it might be slanted or 352 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: you know, just voicing their opinions on the matter. So 353 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: I'd be interested to hear what people think. And since 354 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: we'll hit the hundredth anniversary in just a few years, 355 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: I'm sure it's going to be in the news even more. 356 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,959 Speaker 1: But since we are interested in what you think, We're 357 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: gonna go to some litheror mail. Now we have three 358 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,400 Speaker 1: pieces of real mail today and um one. Since we're 359 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,119 Speaker 1: talking about classes and what you actually learn in history class, 360 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: I thought I would mention this postcard. We got a 361 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: Lions New York the Peppermint Village from Eric, and he 362 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 1: wrote to tell us how much his sixth grade class 363 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 1: loves the show. So I was glad to hear that 364 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: and very cool. Maybe that's something that that they'll be 365 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: learning in a few years. We got another card of 366 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 1: some kiddies and Key West, and um a suggestion from 367 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: Sonia to cover the very unusual, kind of amazing history 368 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 1: of Qus. I don't know himing away, maybe that might 369 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: be fun. And finally we got a whole range of 370 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: items from listener Lauren. She had visited Kahokia Um after 371 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,640 Speaker 1: hearing about the podcast. She and her boyfriend went by 372 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: there and picked up all sorts of stuff. So I 373 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: feel like I've kind of gone to Cooke and myself 374 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: now She's sent a postcard of Monks Mound. She sent 375 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: the tour guide the English version. Thanks for for for 376 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: including that one that's probably easiest so we can we 377 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: can learn a little more about Kahokia. And best of all, 378 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: she sent us a patch that has the little Kahokia figure, um, 379 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: the guy who's so associated with the mounds. It has 380 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,640 Speaker 1: monks ma'am, and it has a few other symbols. And 381 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: this is the second history class patch we've gotten. We 382 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: got one for Takomsa too. Oh my gosh, you know 383 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,720 Speaker 1: what this means like a badge time, Like we need 384 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:08,440 Speaker 1: to get sashes and Sasha sashes. That's eating better idea 385 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: I was going to say. But yeah, oh yeah, that's well, 386 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: maybe Debiliina and I'll have to go visit like a 387 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: thrift store and look for some cast off girl scout 388 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: ware and applier patches and start wearing them proudly. In 389 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 1: the meantime, I can display it in my cube. Yeah, 390 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: maybe we'll take some photos for Facebook. So yeah, if 391 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: you if you have postcards, we love getting them. If 392 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,640 Speaker 1: you have patches, we could try to start a collection here. 393 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 1: That's you don't have to send a patch, but we 394 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 1: do like them. And um, just a plain old email 395 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: is fine too. We're at history podcast at house to 396 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,919 Speaker 1: works dot com. We're also on Twitter and mist in history, 397 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: and we are on Facebook, so you can let us 398 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,640 Speaker 1: know about what you learned in history class, give us suggestions, 399 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: or just right to say Hi. And if you were 400 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: intrigued by the content of this episode and you want 401 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: to see a little more like it when, we have 402 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: an article on our website called ten Controversial court Cases 403 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: and you can look it up by visiting our homepage 404 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: and typing in controversial court cases at www dot how 405 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Be sure to check out our 406 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how stuf 407 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: Work staff as we explore the most promising and perplexing 408 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 1: possibilities of tomorrow. The House to Works iPhone app has 409 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: a ride. Download it today on iTunes.