Last Updated on June 16, 2024 by Mary Phagan
Headlines:
DA Paul Howard's Conviction Review Unit to start With Wayne Williams Case; April 26, 2019 Media Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2019
FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE CREATES UNIT TO EVALUATE THE INTEGRITY OF CONVICTIONS; 1st IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is in search of a Director to lead the department
Atlanta—Today, Fulton County District Attorney, Paul L. Howard, Jr., is pleased to announce the creation of a CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT. Currently, the District Attorney’s Office is
searching for a qualified candidate to serve as the Director of this critical unit which will be the first of its kind in the State of Georgia.
DESCRIPTION OF CIU:
Across the country, District Attorney’s Offices are increasingly creating Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) to re-examine questionable convictions and to guard against future conviction error. We believe prosecutors can and should be leading the charge to ensure the public has confidence in criminal convictions. The many proven cases of wrongful convictions and their known causes
demonstrate that more needs to be done to guard against such errors. Conviction Integrity Units must investigate and remedy wrongful convictions, and they must also establish policies and procedures to learn from the errors identified, so the criminal justice system is strengthened. As such, the Fulton County CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT will investigate claims of actual innocence to determine whether new evidence or facts give rise to a substantial probability that the convicted defendant was not the person who committed the offense for which they were convicted. The CIU will investigate claims of actual innocence or wrongful convictions by convicted defendants who have already been through their trial and appellate processes. The CIU will review cases in which there is new factual, physical, or forensic evidence. The unit will also review cases in which there is relevant evidence that went untested at the time of trial or some other new evidence that a person was convicted wrongfully. Cases must fall into at least one of these four categories to be considered for re-investigation.
Alleged Misconduct on Part of Prosecutor/Law Enforcement Officer
Forensic Testing of Relevant Evidence
Sentence Modifications Due to Nature of Offense/Defendant’s Lack of Criminal History
Cases Determined to Warrant Review in “Interest of Justice”
CASE EXAMPLE:
It is imperative that the integrity of the convictions in Fulton County is maintained and that innocent individuals are not imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. There are specific examples of the value of a well-run, independent Conviction Integrity Unit including the case of Frederick Gant. Gant was convicted and sentenced to Life in Prison for the November 27, 2002 murders of Jonathan Wilder and Zerious Jordan based upon false witness testimony. At the time of the murders, no one came forward to police and the case went cold for 11 years. In 2013, a man from the neighborhood, Major Smith, called police and said he witnessed the crime. Smith identified Gant as the shooter and the case was indicted. Smith testified at trial and Gant was convicted of both murders. It was later discovered that Smith was in jail at the time of the shooting. The defense lawyer contacted the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and DA Paul Howard consented to a new trial and implemented safeguards to vet future informants. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office re-tried the case without Major Smith and Gant was acquitted. The DA’s Office indicted Smith, and he eventually agreed to a plea. Smith was sentenced to 10 years to serve 5 in prison. Following his plea, Smith said everyone knew Gant killed the two victims, but they were too afraid to come forward.
HOW IT WORKS:
Submissions will be analyzed by the Conviction Integrity Unit and must meet the following criteria before the unit conducts an in-depth review.
The conviction must have been in the Fulton County Superior Court
There must be a claim of actual innocence or wrongful conviction, and the claim of actual innocence must be predicated on a factual matter, not a purely legal issue.
The claimant must provide new evidence of actual innocence capable of being investigated and potentially substantiated, not a legal argument.
Case records needed for re-investigation of the claim must exist and be available for review.
The claim must not be frivolous.
The claimant must agree to fully cooperate with the unit, including being interviewed by members of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, and providing the State with any
and all necessary documents or evidence that the claimant considers relevant and material.
Decisions as to whether the CIU will re-open the case investigation, how the claim will be investigated, and how the claim will be resolved are made at the discretion of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and are not reviewable by any court. There is no timeframe by which claims presented to the CIU will be resolved, but the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office will
make every effort to expedite the resolution of each claim. The State will not consent to the vacation of a conviction on grounds of actual innocence unless the reinvestigation of the case clearly and convincingly establishes the claimant’s actual innocence based on the existence of credible evidence.
A panel made up of eight members including (3) Assistant District Attorneys from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, who are solely assigned to the unit (1) outside defense attorney, (1) attorney from the Georgia Innocence Project, (1) Fulton County Minister, (1) attorney/administrator from a local college and/or law school, and (1) attorney from the Georgia Chapter of the NAACP will review cases received by the office to determine whether or not they warrant re-investigation. The panel will submit its recommendation to the Director of the Conviction Integrity Unit who will report directly to Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. for a final decision. The Director of the CIU will also work directly with the District Attorney’s Office to proactively prevent convictions that could potentially require a later review by the unit.
OTHER CIUs:
According to a study by the University of Michigan Law School, University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science and Society, and the Michigan State University College of Law, there
were 33 Conviction Integrity Units in 2017. The study shows rapid growth in the number of CIUs and CIU exonerations since 2007. CIUs were involved in a total of 42 exonerations in 2017, but in 2016, there was a record of 72, due to a series of guilty-plea drug exonerations in Harris County, Texas. Conviction Integrity Units have been involved in 269 exonerations through 2017, according to the study.
FIRST CASE AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:
Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. has already announced that the Wayne Williams/Atlanta Child Murders case will be the first to undergo an in-depth review by the newly formed Conviction Integrity Unit.
“Some within the criminal justice system here in Fulton County have said that my office is taking a significant risk by creating and forming a Conviction Integrity Unit. Some believe we are exposing
ourselves to greater scrutiny and criticism by sanctioning an independent review of our cases. However, it is my belief that a conviction based upon truth and justice will withstand any scrutiny.
It is my belief that the greatest risk is not allowing truth and justice to direct your decisions.”
Paul L. Howard, Jr.
Fulton County District Attorney
JOB POSTING/DESCRIPTION:
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is currently searching for a Director to serve as the leader of the Conviction Integrity Unit. Anyone interested in applying for this position is asked to do so through the Careers section of the Fulton County District Attorney’s website. The job description for the Director of the Conviction Integrity Unit is listed below:
https://www.atlantafultoncountyda.org/careers
Quotes Regarding the Creation of the Conviction Integrity Unit:
“I am pleased to see that Georgia stands for justice. Justice is putting those who commit crimes behind bars and making sure the innocent remain free. Justice is not blind, and the creation of the
Conviction Integrity Unit will make sure that any errors that cost an innocent person their freedom are remedied. I speak as not just a lawyer but as a board member of the Southern Center for Human Rights. "
Attorney L. Chris Stewart
“As representatives of ‘the people,’ prosecutors have a responsibility to ensure that the guilty, andonly the guilty, are convicted. Included in that citizenry are both the victims of crime and those accused. As every prosecutor is (or should be) taught, her primary responsibility is to seek justice. Without an honest and ethical search for the truth, she cannot fulfill that obligation. This search for justice is nothing new to Mr. Howard, as he has been a leader in the efforts to increase
transparency and confidence in the criminal justice system as far back as his formation of the first Public Integrity Unit in the state which was implemented just a few years after being first elected to
office. During my time as a prosecutor under his leadership, the phrase often heard in staff meetings was that we must “do the right thing.” The formation of the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the State is perfectly aligned with that mantra, and I am looking forward to working with its Director in taking this important step in safeguarding public trust in the work of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.”
Melissa D. Redmon
Director, Prosecutorial Justice Program/UGA School of Law
Ms. Redmon will serve as the principal consultant for the FCDA in the formation of the
Conviction Integrity Unit
"It is of foremost importance to ensure that each case is handled with its proper due diligence. The people of Fulton County must have confidence in the just outcome of each case; therefore, we
applaud this step by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard to review previous cases for possible wrongful convictions. Hopefully, this innovative measure will ensure the public's belief that
the Criminal Justice System can be fair for all citizens."
Attorney Gerald Griggs
First Vice-President, Atlanta NAACP
Media Contact
Office of the Fulton County District Attorney
Public Affairs Department | 404.612.0560 |
damedia@fultoncountyga.gov/chris.hopper@fultoncountyga.gov
Contact Person: Chris Hopper, Director of Public Affairs
Fulton County DA to reexamine Wayne Williams and Leo Frank Cases; Atlanta Journal and Constitution, May 7, 2019; Christian Boone
Letter to Fulton County DA Paul Howard:
District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr.
Fulton County District Attorney’s Office
136 Pryor Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
May 16, 2019
Dear Mr. Howard:
I have filed an *open records request for the formation of the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney Conviction Integrity Unity (CIU) which involved the former Governor Roy Barnes and any of the “team” who made public statements in 2018 at the rededication of Leo Frank’s Memorial stating they would file “an extraordinary
motion for new trial” since former Governor Nathan Deal and the Georgia Legislature (August 19, 2015 letter attached) refused their request to exonerate Leo Frank at the 100th Anniversary of his lynching. [ *Open Records Request May 21, 2019, NO SUCH RECORDS!] It is my understanding that this CIU unit will “investigate claims of innocence to see whether new evidence or facts indicate a substantial probability that someone convicted of a crime is not guilty” of the murder of Little Mary Phagan. [*I personally spoke with Dale Schwartz in September 2018 to confirm this statement.]
On May 7, 2019 according to the Atlanta Journal- Constitution you announced the Conviction Integrity Unit and stated, “The Frank Case helped inspired the creation of the new unit “and that “Former Gov. Roy Barnes, who will serve as a consultant to the Conviction Integrity Unit, had lobbied the district attorney to re-examine
Frank’s case.” Former Governor Roy Barnes has swayed, influenced and brought pressure (political bullying) to the Fulton County DA’s office to re-examine the Leo Frank/Mary Phagan case. Those statements alone convince me that the Conviction
Integrity Unity has already re-adjudicated Leo Frank. “Barnes said he is convinced that this will happen. There is no doubt in my mind, and we’ll [(who is ‘’we?”]prove it at the appropriate time, that Leo Frank was not guilty.” Former Governor Roy Barnes should recuse himself from this case as well as members of the Conviction Integrity Unit who know Former Governor Roy Barnes or any others who
have categorically stated that Leo Frank is not guilty.
I am herby requesting, on behalf of the family of the murder victim Mary Phagan, that I be appointed a Consultant on this case and be allowed to have a research assistant on the Conviction Integrity Unit.
For over a century, propaganda has masqueraded as “new evidence”: there have been plays, articles, books, videos, movies, dramas claiming death-bed confessions, bite marks and teeth x-rays (no evidence), and anti-Semitic pogroms (no evidence). Virtually all these works claim that an African American man named
James Conley committed the crime, mostly based on the error-filled “testimony” of Alonzo Mann in 1982 (Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles found Mann’s evidence to be insufficient); the second attempt in 1986 resulted in the Parole Board granting a posthumous pardon “without attempting to address the question
of guilt or innocence. More recently, requests to the Georgia Governor and the Georgia Legislature (2017 requests denied) have tried to enforce Frank’s innocence but do not provide any new, original evidence that would vacate the original verdict
of guilty; rather, they just parrot propaganda of other pro-Frank partisans.
Most advocates and so-called experts who determine Leo Frank is not guilty have relied on blatantly false information and politically biased propaganda and have not considered all the facts or reviewed all the original legal documents, including the original official testimony and evidence. Frank’s conviction was upheld by thirteen
courts and judges in his thirteen appeals. Driven by the need to exonerate a Jewish leader, they convict an innocent African American man. They spread fabrications, propagandize falsehoods, distort the facts and change headlines of original newspapers to promote the hoax of not guilty. The real miscarriage of justice is that in this time of the #MeToo movement, you seek to override a duly convicted
child rapist and murderer’s conviction.
The Phagan family is outraged that the Conviction Integrity Unit is reviewing the Leo Frank/Little Mary Phagan case.
Thank you,
Mary Phagan-Kean
No response from Fulton County DA, Paul Howard.
After 106 years, Leo Frank could have another day in court
Marietta Daily Journal, June 16, 2019; Jon Gillooly
Leo Frank case continues to fascinate
Marietta Daily Journal June 20, 2019; Ross Williams
July 2019 [June 2021 Updated] Phagan Family Position Statement:
Phagan Family: CIU met in secret with ADL, Rabbi Steven Lebow and former Governor Roy Barnes using "political bullying" to exonerate Leo Frank!
Phagan Family’s Statement on the Latest Attempt to Exonerate Leo Frank:
It was reported in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution that on April 26, 2019 [ironically 106 years to the day] after Mary Phagan's murder] that the Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard [defeated by Fani Willis on November 6, 2020] had established a “Conviction Integrity Unit” that he said would review the Leo Frank conviction of 1913. Those named as participants in this move were the following:
Former Governor Roy Barnes
Rabbi Steven Lebow
Attorney Dale Schwartz
Melissa D. Redmon, director of the University of Georgia Law School
Former Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears
Former Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher
Former Cobb County Superior Court Chief Judge J. Stephen Schuster
Assistant District Attorney Van Pearlberg
The Family of Mary Phagan believes that these individuals have “colluded” since August of 2018 to find a way to vacate the murder conviction. ADL attorney Dale Schwartz was quoted thus: “we’re still trying to get a new trial that would, in effect, exonerate him.” [In 1914, several attempts were made to “exonerate” Leo Frank using “new evidence "that included witness affidavits later found to
have been forged or obtained by bribery and other illegal means. See the Atlanta Constitution of May 5, 1914, p. 1.]
Clearly, the new agency was a blatantly political scheme that had nothing to do with justice. It was set up, it appears, at the behest of the above-mentioned Frank advocates for one purpose only—to help Leo Frank escape culpability for his crime. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 7, 2019), Fulton County D.A. Paul Howard stated, “The Frank Case helped inspire the creation of the new unit” and that former Gov. Roy Barnes “will serve as a consultant.” Barnes admitted that he “had lobbied the district attorney [Howard] to re-examine Frank’s case.”
Let us be clear what that means. Those statements alone convince us that the conviction Integrity Unit has already determined the outcome of the Leo Frank case. According to the article, “Barnes said he is convinced that this will happen. ‘There is no doubt in my mind, and we’ll [Who is “we?”] prove it at the appropriate time, that Frank was not guilty.’”
For years Roy Barnes has been promoting a fraudulent narrative about the Frank case, and in particular that the 1913 trial was illegitimate because verdict it was “mob dominated.” He said that “there were just mobs of people. And as the jury would go [to] the courthouse every day, the mob would scream, "Hang the Jew or we'll hang you!"1 This charge is a blatant lie that has been disproven by the scholars of the case. It was made up long after the trial by an overzealous writer trying to make a name for himself. Only Barnes continues to repeat it. For this and many other reasons Governor Roy Barnes is simply unfit to participate in any serious inquiry into the Leo Frank case.
Once again, most advocates and so-called experts who determine Leo Frank is not guilty have relied on blatantly false information and politically biased propaganda. Frank’s conviction was upheld by thirteen separate courts and judges in his thirteen appeals from Fulton County to the United States Supreme Court. Every court affirmed the trial was fair and the jury was not “mob terrorized.”
What’s more, driven by the need to exonerate a Jewish leader, they intend to convict an innocent African American man, James Conley—Frank’s employee that he ordered to help move the body. They ignore the 20 young girls and women who testified under oath that Frank sexually harassed them at the factory. Frank’s attorneys refused to cross-examine ANY of them, and later admitted that they were all telling the truth.
These sources—and many, many more like them—use to be available on the internet until very recently. Indeed, the books, videos, articles, and court documents that provide a balanced view of the case have been systematically removed from the internet
SINCE THE Fulton County CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT WAS ANNOUNCED!
No Longer Available
• Original articles from the three major dailies covering
the day-by-day progress of the case (removed from archive.org)
• Videos from YouTube that challenge the false idea that Leo Frank was “wrongly convicted.
• Official case documents like the Brief of Evidence, the appeals filings, and the published trial records have been scrubbed from the internet.
• Books that prove Leo Frank’s guilt and provide a serious case analysis have been banned and censored. My 1987 book titled The Murder of Little Mary Phagan has been removed from some websites where it was previously available for years. The Nation of Islam’s recent book Leo Frank: The Lynching of a Guilty Man has been mysteriously banned from sale on Amazon.com.
• Google searches EXCLUDE articles and documents that show evidence of Frank’s guilt.
• When we made an Open Records Request to the University of Georgia, they first said 70 records match the request. When we paid to have them mailed to us, all of a sudden, all 70 records vanished with no explanation!
Fortunately for the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit, the public and the media will still be able to access those critical official documents that the Leo Frank crusaders are trying to hide. We have made them available at LittleMaryPhagan.com where we believe
they will be safe from the Leo Frank censors and their internet cleansing campaign.
Fulton County District Attorney, Paul Howard was defeated in the last election but the Conviction Integrity Unit he set up is still operating under the new District Attorney Fani Willis. Ms. Fani Willis might do well to ask why the original documents in the case all of a sudden have been removed from the internet, and who had the power to remove them and why. How can the case be carefully reviewed without them? Indeed, the books, videos, articles, and court documents that provide a full and balanced view of the case have been systematically removed SINCE THE CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT WAS ANNOUNCED!!!
Obviously, Truth has become offensive or objectionable and has been deemed “hate speech” in order to impose censorship: [ tool that is used when the "The Lie" Loses its Power; author unknown]]
But FACTS ARE NOT HATEFUL
1 Watch this video at 1:40 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tgKcqOXyhc
2
See https://littlemaryphagan.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/02/FINAL-Barnes.pdf
3 https://littlemaryphagan.com/the-murder-t
.
- Preface [Last Updated On: June 18th, 2024] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2023]
- Chapter 15: 1995: The secret deceitful underhanded revisionist political Marker Change at Mary Phagan's Grave by the Parks and Tourism Committee, Marietta City Council and the Jewish Community. [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2023]
- Chapter 13: 1987-1988 Mary Phagan NBC "Docudrama" [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2023]
- Chapter 17: 2003: Steve Oney Publishes Book [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2023]
- Chapter 16: 1998: Parade the Broadway musical is a corruption of history and radical attempt to whitewash a horrible murder and pin it on Jim Conley, a Negro [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2023]
- The People v. Leo Frank 2009 [Last Updated On: January 8th, 2024] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2023]
- INTRODUCTION: FINAL [Last Updated On: April 3rd, 2024] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2023]
- Chapter 18: Leo Frank Historical Marker Approved in 2006; Dedicated 2008 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2024]
- Chapter 19: PBS Documentary: The People vs Leo Frank: 2008; Seeking Justice The Leo Frank Case Revisited: 2009 [Last Updated On: June 18th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 8th, 2024]
- Chapter 20: 100 years: 2013 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 14th, 2024]
- Chapter 26: Phagan Family Position Paper 2021 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 14th, 2024]
- Chapter 25: Jonathan Greenblatt: August 17, 2023, 2022, 2021 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 14th, 2024]
- Chapter 21: 2015: 100 years after Leo Frank Lynching [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 15th, 2024]
- Chapter 28: January: 2024 Fani Willis, Fulton County DA Investigated by Georgia Senate Commission [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 23rd, 2024]
- Chapter 27: Cobb Librarian Discusses the Lynching of Leo Frank: 2023 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: January 23rd, 2024]
- Forward [Last Updated On: March 25th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Contents [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Glossary [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Appendix [Last Updated On: June 18th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Dramatis Personae/Who's Who [Last Updated On: June 29th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Epilogue [Last Updated On: June 26th, 2024] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2024]
- Chapter 24: Roy Barnes Mercer Law School (November 12, 2019) [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2024]
- Chapter 23: Fulton County Paul Howard defeated by Fani Willis; November 6, 2019 [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2024] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2024]