1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Hello and happy Saturday everyone. We are coming up on 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: the one hundred and fifth anniversary of the murder of 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: Mary Fagan, which led to the trial, conviction, and sentencing 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: of Leo Frank. I was a superintendent of the pencil 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: factory where Mary worked, and after his sentence was commuted 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: to life in prison, he was abducted by a mob 7 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: and lynched. This episode is from twenty eleven and it 8 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: was recorded by previous hosts Sarah and do Blina, and 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: as they discuss, it's covered extensively in a lot of 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: Georgia classrooms, but often not as much in other parts 11 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: of the United States and the world. So now we 12 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: will hand it over to Sarah and de Blina for 13 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: the trial of Leo Frank. Welcome to Stuff you missed 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: in History Class from houstofpworks dot com. Hello and welcome 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm toa Blina Chocolate Boarding and I'm 16 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: fair Dowdy and the story we're about to tell happened 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: in Atlanta, actually kind of in our own backyards, but 18 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: we don't feel too self conscious about telling it because 19 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: this topic has been requested many times by listeners and 20 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: that's not surprising. The Leo Frank trial has been called quote, 21 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: one of the most shocking frame ups ever perpetuated by 22 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: American law and order officials, and the story involves a 23 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: Jewish man named Leo Frank being convicted, many think wrongly 24 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: convicted for the murder of a young girl named Mary Fagan, 25 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: and a group of men taking the law in to 26 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: their own hands and trying to make sure that basically 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: he paid the ultimate price for this. But there was 28 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: much more to this story than just these acts and 29 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: who was guilty or not guilty. This was a situation 30 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: about industrialism and the injustices associated with it, race relations, 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: North South tensions, so a lot of things. So it's 32 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: no wonder that it caught the attention and kind of 33 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: the emotions of the entire nation. But it's still a 34 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: mystery too in a way to this day, people still 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: wonder what really happened to Mary Fagan. So we're going 36 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: to take a look at the crime, the evidence, the 37 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: trial that ensued, But first we're going to try to 38 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the man that ended up 39 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: at the center of all this controversy, Leo Frank. Leo 40 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: Max Frank was born in Paris, Texas in eighteen eighty four, 41 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: but his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when he 42 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: was very small, and he grew up there. He went 43 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: to public school, the Pratt Institute, and since he was 44 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: very mechanically minded, he got an engineering degree from Cornell University. 45 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:33,959 Speaker 1: Now he worked for a brief time with a few 46 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: different companies, but eventually he joined the family business. He 47 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: went to work for his uncle, Moses Frank, who was 48 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: the principal owner of the National Pencil Company, and that 49 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: company had a factory in Atlanta, and in nineteen oh 50 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: seven Frank was made co owner and superintendent of that 51 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,959 Speaker 1: location of that factory and moved down south. So in 52 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: nineteen ten he married a native Atlanton, Lucille Selig, who 53 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: came from a prominent Jewish family, and by nineteen thirteen 54 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: he'd been honored by the local Jewish community as one 55 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: of Atlanta's most promising young businessman. So he looked like 56 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: he had a great future ahead of him. And Atlanta's 57 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: Jewish community wasn't as big as New York's, of course, 58 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: but it was still fairly significant, and it was significant 59 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: enough that Frank probably didn't feel very isolated. He probably 60 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: didn't worry that much about racism. He spent most of 61 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: his time working, so he seemed to be leading a 62 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: fairly successful, definitely peaceful life, yes, but all of that changed. 63 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: April twenty sixth, nineteen thirteen. That's when Mary Fagan, who 64 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: was this strikingly beautiful blonde thirteen year old girl from Marietta, Georgia, 65 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: so just outside the city, she stopped by the factory 66 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: to get her pay on the way to a Confederate 67 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: Memorial Day parade. And around this time, the state's economy 68 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: was really undergoing a kind of change. It was going 69 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: from a more agrarian economy to more of an industrial economy. 70 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: So Frank's factory, like many others and Lloyd women and 71 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: children to perform light labor tasks because they could be 72 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: paid lower wages than men. So we're talking like five 73 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: or six dollars a week is what they were taking home. 74 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: So it'd saved the factory some money. And Mary was, 75 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: of course one of these workers, and she was even 76 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: making less than that at the time because she was 77 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: part of a temporary layoff, so she had only worked 78 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: one day for that entire week and was picking up 79 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: a dollar twenty So she stopped by Frank's office that Saturday, 80 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: and according to his story, she got her money, He 81 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: paid the bill, and she left and she was never 82 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: seen alive again. Around three am the next day, the 83 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: night watchman Newt Lee was on his way to the 84 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: Negro toilet, which was located in the factory basement, and 85 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: that's where he found the body of a girl near 86 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: the bottom of an elevator shaft. She was so completely 87 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: covered in sawdust and grime that at first it was 88 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: hard to even tell if she was white or black. 89 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: Her skull was dented and caked in blood, her eyes 90 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: were used, and her cheeks were cut, and a cord 91 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: was wrapped around her neck. So at this point Lee 92 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: calls the police. He's afraid they'll suspect him, and they 93 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: come in to inspect the scene, and with the help 94 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 1: of another worker, they identify the body as Mary Fagan. 95 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: They arrested Lee right away, so his worries were correct, 96 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: and incidentally, he was held without charges four months after that. 97 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: But then the police went to get Frank. They wanted 98 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: to take him along to see the body and question 99 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: him at the site, and it was an experience that 100 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: Frank did not handle smoothly as we'll see later. He 101 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: was disturbed by the side of the body, and he 102 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: seemed really nervous to them, So that was kind of 103 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: the beginning of his problems, and they questioned him for 104 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: a long time and then formally arrested him on April 105 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: twenty ninth, nineteen thirteen. But things were moving along at 106 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: quite a clip with this investigation because police were under 107 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: a lot of pressure to find and convict a killer, 108 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: and there had been a series of unsolved murders in 109 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 1: Atlanta during the previous year and a half. So the 110 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: city was really frustrated, frustrated with the police, and they 111 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: wanted justice, and Mary Fagan ended up becoming a kind 112 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: of symbol for them. Initial reports even said that she 113 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: had been raped. That made people even more outraged. So 114 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: officials moved quickly to assemble whatever clues they could that 115 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,599 Speaker 1: would prove Frank's guilt, and this is what they came 116 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: up with. At first, they thought, well, he was really 117 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: nervous the day after the murder, and that seemed suspicious. 118 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: They were also suspicious by the fact that he had 119 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: called Lee several times that night to see if there 120 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: was any trouble, and that was something that he normally 121 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: did not do. And then finally the fact that several 122 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,719 Speaker 1: employees came forward and said that Frank quote indulged in 123 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: familiarities with a woman in his employ and a woman 124 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: who ran a boarding house even claimed that Frank had 125 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,559 Speaker 1: called her the day of the murder, trying to arrange 126 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: a room for himself and a young girl. So this 127 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: is what police were initially acting on. On that last point, 128 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: in particular, many of the witnesses, including the boarding house proprietress, 129 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: they later recanted their accusations, but these same accusations helped 130 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: Hugh Dorsey, who was a prosecutor with pretty big political ambitions, 131 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: to build a case around Frank is this Jewish man 132 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: who was praying on gentile girls for his own pleasure. 133 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: Four weeks later, a grand jury used this information to 134 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: indict Frank. But there were some more clues that came in, 135 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: clues that seem a little more promising than the ones 136 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: we already went over, real clues that seemed to be 137 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: all but ignored. Ultimately, there were these two strange notes 138 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: that were scribbled on scraps of yellow paper, and they 139 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: were found near the body, and they're kind of tricky 140 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: to read. Here, but one of them said, ma'am, that 141 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: negro higher down here did this. I went to make 142 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: water and he pushed me down that whole a long 143 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: tall negro black that who it was, long slim, tall Negro, 144 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: I write while play with me. And the other note, 145 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: also written in this kind of difficult to follow styles, 146 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: that he said he would love me land and play 147 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: like the night witch did it. But that long, tall 148 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: black Negro did buy hisself. So these unusual notes found 149 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: near the body seem like a major, major new clue. Yeah, 150 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: and obviously they're confusing because they contain some bed spelling 151 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: and things like that and are hard to read, as 152 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: Sarah said, but they're also contradictory. I mean, the first 153 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: one sort of seems to identify the murderer, and the 154 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: second kind of suggests that the writer was saying he 155 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: was trying to throw suspicion elsewhere. So it was very confusing, 156 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: but at least something that seems like it should have 157 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: been pursued. The next piece of evidence was also found 158 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: near the body, at the bottom of the elevator shaft. 159 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: It was human excrement, and we're going to get into 160 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: that a little more later because there are a few 161 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: other clues involving that. But the likely owner of said 162 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: human excrement was a black janitor named Jim Conley, and 163 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: he had been seen washing blood out of a shirt 164 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,959 Speaker 1: at the factory after the murder. So, WHOA, that sounds 165 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: like there is a whole nother potential suspect involved here. Yes, 166 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 1: in fact, there was another suspect. Conley was working at 167 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: the factory the day of the murder and even admitted 168 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: to have written those two notes when police arrested and 169 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: questioned him on the matter, but he claimed that Frank 170 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: had dictated the notes to him. So throwing a wrench 171 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: in this whole thing, right, And according to Leonard Dinnerstein 172 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: in American Heritage, the grand jury wanted to reconvene and 173 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: actually charge Connolly instead, but perhaps because of these political 174 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: aspirations of Dorsey's and he actually became the governor later, 175 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: we should throw that at that actuation, they did pay off, 176 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: but he wouldn't allow this. He wouldn't allow them to 177 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: reconsider this. We're not really sure how he talked them 178 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 1: out of it, but Donnerstein suggests that quote given Southern values, 179 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: they may have assumed that no attorney would base his 180 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: case on the word of a black man unless the 181 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: evidence was overwhelming. So basically, the grand jury just felt 182 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: persuaded by Dorsey's dedication to this case. He was just 183 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: so sure that Leo Frank was guilty that he was 184 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: willing to believe even Jim Calmly. But regardless of how 185 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:17,559 Speaker 1: he did it, Dorsey did win out and the trial 186 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: started July twenty eighth, nineteen thirteen in Atlanta. A large 187 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: angry mob showed up in attendance and they were shouting 188 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: things like hang the Jew. And they weren't just saying 189 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: that outside the doors of the courthouse, they were saying 190 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: things like that in the courtroom. So yeah, it was 191 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: a really intimidating atmosphere to be in. And you have 192 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: to wonder how in this environment they could have chosen 193 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: an unbiased jury, I mean they did choose a jury, 194 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: or how an unbiased juror would remain unbiased true, I mean, 195 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: there were so many tensions going on in this scenario 196 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: at the time. There were class tensions that was working 197 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: class versus a factory owner race, you know, there was 198 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 1: anti Semitism going on North versus South. Since Frank was 199 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: technically a Yankee and that rubbed people the wrong way. 200 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: So things seemed to be working in Dorsey's favor almost 201 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: and he presented his case. He proposed that Frank killed 202 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: Fagin in a workroom outside his office on the second floor, 203 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: and that the body was dragged to an elevator and 204 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: taken to the basement. His argument included witness testimony that 205 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: there were blood spots on the floor there and hair 206 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: on a lathe, but it didn't really make sense. There 207 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: were a lot of holes in this approach. Here's just 208 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: an example of a few things. For example, state biologist 209 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: had concluded that the hair that was found on that 210 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 1: lathe wasn't actually Fagan's. Witnesses also said that those blood 211 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: spots found on the floor could have actually been paint, 212 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: and the excrement that Sarah mentioned earlier would have had 213 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: to have been mashed when the elevator went down. I mean, 214 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: every time that the elevator went down, it completely hit 215 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: everything at the bottom right. But apparently it wasn't until 216 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: after the body was discovered that that actually occurred that 217 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: the excrement was smashed and they smelled that telltale smell. However, 218 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: Conley had said that he positive said excrement there before 219 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: the murder, so it didn't add up. But the prosecution's 220 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: case really revolved around Connolly's testimony almost entirely. Interestingly, though 221 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: he had changed his story several times before the trial, 222 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: he had even signed four different affidavits, but once he 223 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: got in there, once he got up on the stand, 224 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,719 Speaker 1: he stuck to his account. He didn't waiver. It's very 225 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: likely that he was coached to give this strong story 226 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: in front of the court. But he claimed that Frank 227 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: summoned him to his office that day and here's what 228 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: he had to say. His eyes were large and they 229 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:40,319 Speaker 1: looked right funny, and then confessed the crime. And Conley 230 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: said that Frank offered, but never gave him money to 231 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 1: dispose of the body, and asked Connie if he could write, 232 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: and once Colley said he could, Frank dictated the murder notes. 233 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: So Frank, meanwhile, had two well known attorneys acting in 234 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 1: his defense, Luther Z. Rosser and Ruben R. Arnold, and 235 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: most feel that what really hurt their defense is that 236 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: they weren't able to make a dent in Conley's testimony. 237 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: Just they couldn't shake him. He just completely stuck to 238 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,960 Speaker 1: that story. Even though he had changed it quite a 239 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: bit before getting into court, and even though Frank had 240 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: strong character witnesses too, and alibis people to account for 241 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: his whereabouts before, during, and after the murder, the jury 242 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: still found him guilty on September twenty sixth, nineteen thirteen, 243 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: and they only took They took less than four hours 244 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,079 Speaker 1: actually to deliberate what had been one of the longest 245 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: trials in Georgia history, so essentially their minds were made up. 246 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: Frank was sentenced to be executed on October tenth of 247 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: that year, but the execution was stayed by several ultimately 248 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: unsuccessful appeals on the part of his lawyers, so they 249 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 1: made a couple of appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court 250 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: when all the conviction on February seventeenth, nineteen fourteen, and 251 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 1: another one did the same on October fourteenth, nineteen fourteen. 252 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: His defense lawyers then made a habeas corpus petition to 253 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: the US Supreme Court, but the court ended up denying 254 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: that petition despite the fact that there were some strong 255 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: descents to it. I mean Justice is Oliver Wendell Holmes 256 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: and Charles Evans among them, So there were some people 257 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: who who were in favor of that petition, And while 258 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: all this legal stuff was going on, there were some 259 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: kind of crazy developments, including witnesses taking back those accusations. 260 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: We mentioned that earlier, the accusations about Frank's alleged sexual deviations, 261 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: and also Conley's girlfriend came into the picture. She came 262 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 1: into the picture and gave some testimony about Conley's own 263 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: sexual perversions, so to speak. And Conley's own lawyer told 264 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: Judge Rohan, who had been the trial judge, that Conley 265 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: had confessed the murder to him. So that seems like 266 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: a pretty damning new piece of evidence, I would say, 267 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: if there's an actual confession, But that had actually come 268 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: to light during the appeals process, so we should mention 269 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: that it didn't really make a difference in his appeals. 270 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: He would have had to get a retrial or something 271 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: for that to have an effect. But the last appeal, 272 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: the final appeal was made to Governor John M. Slayton, 273 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: whose term was almost up by this point, and he 274 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: listened to both sides, He studied the records, he visited 275 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 1: the scene, and he also considered all these new things 276 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 1: that we've mentioned, and after struggling with it for twelve days, 277 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: so it wasn't going to take him four hours twelve 278 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: days of thinking it over. Slayton commuted Frank's sentence to 279 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: life imprisonment on June twenty first, nineteen fifteen, and he 280 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: knew how serious that decision was. He told his wife, 281 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: it may mean my death or worse, but I've ordered 282 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: the sentence commuted. And as he suspected, it was a 283 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,359 Speaker 1: very unpopular decision. There were demonstrations about it. There were 284 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: vandalism took place against Jewish homes stores around the city, 285 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: and Frank had been moved already by this point to 286 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: a prison at Millageville, which was supposedly more secure, except 287 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: that after Slayton's reversal of the decision, it didn't prove 288 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: secure at all. No, while he was there, an inmate 289 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: cut Frank's throat and they were able to save him. 290 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: But while he was recovering, on August sixteenth, nineteen fifteen, 291 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 1: a group of twenty five vigilantes from Marietta drove out 292 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: to the prison, overpowered the guards and took Frank with 293 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: them back to Marietta, which was a pretty long drive. 294 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: So they took him back to where Mary Fagan was from, 295 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: and there a lynch mob watched as they hung him 296 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: from an oak tree. And all this time during the 297 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: drive back and before they hung him, they truly tried 298 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: to get him to confess, but he never did. He 299 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: just asked for his wedding ring to be sent to 300 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: his wife. So after the lynching, locals knew the identities 301 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: of the men involved, but they were never prosecuted, and 302 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: the men who did it even sort of used it 303 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: as a rallying cry point of pride. They called themselves 304 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 1: the Knights of Mary Fagan, and the girl's name just 305 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,919 Speaker 1: alone became a rally and cry for the resurgence of 306 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: the Ku Klux Klan in the area. It was something 307 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: that people still dwelled on even a few years after. Yeah, 308 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: a few years after, and some people still debate about 309 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: this up until today. I mean they still debate over 310 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: whether frank was actually guilty or innocent. Many historians seem 311 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: to believe in his innocence and frankly, I mean, if 312 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: you look at a lot of sources for material about 313 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 1: this case, they seemed to lean that way that he 314 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: was wrongly accused. In nineteen eighty two, an old black 315 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: man named Alonzo, man who worked at Frank's factory as 316 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: a child, came forward and said that he'd seen Conley 317 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: drag Mary Fagan's corpse to the basement, but he kept 318 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: silent about it because Conley at the time had threatened 319 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: to kill him. And I think he even went to 320 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: his mom and told her what had happened, and she 321 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: was like, don't get involved. So this didn't come to 322 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: light until the eighties. On March eleventh, and nineteen eighty six, 323 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: the Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles posthumously pardoned Frank. 324 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: But as Dinnerstein's piece points out, this doesn't exactly exonerate 325 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 1: him for the crime. It was granted quote in recognition 326 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: of the state's failure to protect the person of Leo 327 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: Frank and thereby preserve his opportunity of continued legal appeal 328 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,360 Speaker 1: of his conviction, and in recognition of the state's failure 329 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: to bring his killers to justice, and as an effort 330 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: to heal old wounds. So it was basically to give 331 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: him back his civil rights in a sense. Yeah, And 332 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting to talk about this case 333 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,719 Speaker 1: because I don't I mean, it is so often suggested 334 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: to US, so I guess a lot of people do 335 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: know about it, but for a podcast called Stephie Miston 336 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: History Class. This is something that I have had in 337 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,679 Speaker 1: almost every history class. I mean, from Georgia history in 338 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: middle school to high school US history to college. It's 339 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: really heavily taught here in Georgia and see and I 340 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: hadn't learned anything about it growing up up oh in 341 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: another state. So maybe it is something that Georgia and 342 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: Georgians are especially concerned with with studying and make sure 343 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:18,400 Speaker 1: we don't forget this, certainly this crime against somebody's civil liberties. 344 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us for this Saturday classic. 345 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 1: Since this is out of the archive, if you heard 346 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 1: an email address or a Facebook URL or something similar 347 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: during the course of the show, that may be obsolete now. 348 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: So here is our current contact information. We are at 349 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 1: history podcasts at HowStuffWorks dot com, and then we're at 350 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: Missed in the History all over social media. That is 351 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: our name on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks 352 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 1: again for listening. For more on this and thousands of 353 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 1: other topics, visit houstuffworks dot com.