WHO'S WHO

ACKNOWLEGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART I

Introduction

Chapter 1

"ARE YOU BY ANY CHANCE...?"

Chapter 2

THE LEGACY

Chapter 3

MY SEARCH BEGINS

Chapter 4

THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION

Chapter 5

THE CASE FOR THE DEFENSE

Chapter 6

SENTENCING AND AFTERMATH

Chapter 7

THE COMMUTATION

Chapter 8

THE LYNCHING

Chapter 9

REVERBERATIONS

Chapter 10

ALONZO MANN'S TESTIMONY

Chapter 11

THE PHAGANS BREAK THEIR VOW OF SILENCE

Chapter 12

APPLICATION FOR PARDON

AFTERWORD PARDON

PART II

Chapter 13

THE MURDER OF MARY PHAGAN MINI-SERIES: JANUARY 1988

Chapter 14

ADL LAWYER DALE SCHWARTZ REVISIONISM OF JUDGE ROAN'S STATEMENT TO JURY: 1989

Chapter 15

THE SECRET DECEITUL UNDERHANFED REVISIONIST POLITIVAL MARKER CHANGE AT MARY PHAGAN'S GRAVE BY THE PARKS AND TOURISM COMMITTEE, MARIETTA CITY COUNCIL AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY: 1995

Chapter 16

PARADE THE BROADWAY MUSICAL IS A CORRUPTION OF HISTORY AND RADICAL ATTEMPTTO WHITEWASH A HORRIBLE MURDER AND PIN IT ON  JIM CONLEY, A NEGRO: 1998

Chapter 17

STEVE ONEY PUBLISHES BOOK: 2003

Chapter 18

LEO FRANK HISTORICAL MARKER APPROVED IN 2006; DEDICATED 2008 

Chapter 19

PBS DOCUMENTARY 2008; SEEKING JUSTICE FOR LEO FRANK CASE REVISITED: 2009

Chapter 20

100 YEARS AFTER THE RAPE AND MURDER OF MARY PHAGAN: 2013

Chapter 21

100 YEARS AFTER LEO FRANK LYNCHING: 2015

Chapter 22

FULTON COUNTY CONVICTION INTEGRITY UNIT [CIU] ESTABLISHED TO EXONERATE LEO FRANK; 2019

Chapter 23

FULTON COUNTY PAUL HOWARD DEFEATED BY FANI WILLIS NOVEBER 6, 2019

Chapter 24

ROY BARNES MERCER LAW SCHOOL NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Chapter 25

JONATHAN GREENBLATT ADL: August 17, 2023, 2022, 2021

Chapter 26

PHAGAN FAMILY POSITION PAPER: 2021

Chapter 27

COBB LIBRARIAN DISCUSSED THE LYNCHING OF LEO FRANK: 2023

Chapter 28

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DA UNDER INVESTIGATION BY GEORGAI SENATE COMMISSION: 2024

Chapter 29

SEEKING JUSTICE FOR LITTLE MARY PHAGAN; NEWSLETTERS COLLECTION

Epilogue

Appendices

Glossary Terms

Selected Bibliography

Index

Cobb Librarian discusses the lynching of Leo Frank

Marietta Daily Journal,

August 19/20, 2023, by Joel Elliott

Amy Albers, Librarian at the Switzer Library's Georgia Room presented "Lynching of Leo Frank" at the 108-year anniversary of Leo Frank's lynching.  Approximately a hundred people attended including myself and my sister. I made a comment about the "new marker" being installed at Mary's grave and the reason why -original marker was removed to 'bamboozle" the public into believing Leo Frank was innocent of Mary's murder.

PowerPoint Presentation:  Amy Albers

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFhI6QaKEE/b5oLnwbQfo5ZFVPt3x4xgQ/edit?utm_content=DAFhI6QaKEE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Comments by Mary Phagan-Kean regarding PowerPoint Presentation:

Amy Albers:

Sexual Assault:

The autopsy report done by Dr. Harris confirms that Mary Phagan was sexually assaulted. Some people insist Mary Phagan was not sexually assaulted.

Startling Statements Made During Testimony of Dr. Harris

Atlanta Constitution
August 2^nd, 1913

Making the startling declaration that Mary Phagan had been killed within thirty or forty-five minutes after she had eaten dinner, Dr. Roy F. Harris, state chemist, took the stand during the afternoon session yesterday.

It was Dr. Harris who made the autopsy upon the body when it was disinterred in Marietta on May 5. He brought with him into court specimens of predigested cabbage which had been removed from the slain girl’s stomach.

He also testified to the effect that the girl had suffered violence before death and recited the condition in which he had found blood vessels and tissues of the girl’s organs.

He was questioned first by Solicitor Dorsey.

“What is your occupation?”

“I am a physician.”

“How long have you been a physician?”

“Since 1889.”

“Give the jury a brief history of your career.”
“I was graduated in Atlanta in 1839 and in Philadelphia in 1890. I was professor of chemistry in the medical college at Philadelphia, and later became assistant professor of bacteriology in the Jefferson Medical college. I was professor in the Atlanta College of Medicine, and have been director of laboratory in the state board of health since the inauguration of the board.”

“Did you examine the body of Mary Phagan?”

“Yes. On May 5.”

“What did you discover, if anything?”

“Several discolorations. One was on the forehead, one on an arm and one on each of the left and right legs. A huge discoloration was on the right eye.”
“What did the discoloration of the right eye seem to have been inflicted by?”

“By a fist.”
“Was there another wound?”

“Yes. One on the head about an inch and a half in length. On removing the skull I found no break, but discovered signs of hemorrhage beneath—a hemorrhage which would have rendered the victim unconscious.”

Death Caused by Strangulation.

“What was the cause of death?”

“There was a ridge in the throat apparently made by a stout cord. It was very deep. Strangulation, beyond a doubt, was the cause.”
“Why do you say, doctor, that a fist caused the discoloration of the eye?”
“Because the discoloration was swollen and didn’t show any degree of contusion that an instrument or hard substance would have caused.”

“Do you think that this and the other injuries were made before death?”

“Unquestionably.”

“What did you find in her stomach upon its removal?”
“One hundred and sixty-six cubic centimeters of cabbage and biscuits.”
“Was this substance digested?”

“No.”
Here the witness took from his satchel a small vial containing fluid preservative, in which floated a small amount of cabbage.

“This,” he said, “is some of what I removed from the stomach.”

“How long was this substance in her stomach before death?”
“She was either killed or received the blow upon the head thirty or forty-five minutes after her last meal.”

Evidences of Violence.

Dr. Harris then testified that in examining the organs of the girl’s body he had discovered evidences of violence.

“How long does it take a corpse to begin rigor-mortis?”

“It varies so much in different cases that it is impossible to determine.”

“Are you able to say how long it was before Mary Phagan died?”
“No. I can’t say.”

“How long did she live after eating her last meal?”

“Thirty or forty-five minutes.”
“How much blood did she lose?”

“That, I cannot say.”

It was upon this last answer that Dr. Harris suffered the collapse. He was assisted from the stand by Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner before the defense was able to being its cross-examination.

Bitemarks:

Had Mary Phagan been bitten on the breasts? X-rays of her body had apparently shown teeth indentations on her neck and shoulder. Where were the X-ray records? Were the marks made by Leo Frank's teeth? Did Solicitor Dorsey have Mary's body exhumed a second time to check the marks against X-rays of Leo Frank's teeth?

*Jewish American scholars of the Leo Frank Case (Oney,[ And the Dead Shall Rise, 2003, pages 617-618] *Dinnerstein,[ The Leo Frank Case, 1991 Special , page 158] *Golden, [ A Little Girl is Dead, 1965, pages 53-54; 256-257] *Alphin,[ An Unspeakable Crime, 2010; pages 11, 46, 132] *Melnick, [ Black-Jewish Relations on Trial; Leo Frank and Jim Conley in the New South, 2000; page 68], *Wilkes [Flagpole Magazine, May 5, 2004; page 7] and others) have cited  that Mary Phagan had bitemarks on her neck and shoulder and state that this as factual evidence and indicates Leo Frank is innocent and should be exonerated.

In 1913, Kodak produced the first prepackaged dental x-ray film. The packet of waxed waterproof paper contained two pieces of single-coated film. This film basically was still photographic film. In 1919, Kodak produce the first true dental x-ray film, designed for direct exposure by x-rays.

First Court case in Georgia when dental x-rays were used:

1985:  Henson

https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/1985/69545.html

Atlanta Journal, August 3, 1913

"Both physicians [Dr. Harris, Dr. Hurt] and the undertaker agree that there were no beastly and unspeakable mutilations about the dead girl’s body, such as street rumor and gossip originally attributed to the perpetrator of the crime."

Mary Phagan was embalmed by William Gheesling at P.J. Bloomfield's Mortuary on late morning of April 27, 1913 and Dr. Hurt completed a post-mortem.  Dr. Harris did an autopsy on May 5, 1913. None of these experts who examined the body of Mary Phagan ever reported bitemarks on her neck and shoulder, or anywhere on her body for that matter.

Mary Phagan was exhumed when a rumor that a girl that looked similar to her appeared to be on drugs, during the evening of the murder April 26, 1913.  No bitemarks were ever reported anywhere on her embalmed body, during further examinations, or after exhumation on the morning of May 5, 1913.

During the trial of Leo Frank, numerous physicians witnesses for both the State's prosecution and Defense team never mentioned bitemarks on Mary Phagan's neck and shoulder.  Newspaper reports from the Atlanta Journal, Atlanta Constitution, and the Atlanta Georgian from 1913-1915 never mentioned bitemarks or photos of the teeth marks on her body did not correspond with Leo Frank's set of teeth of which several photos were taken.  Governor John M. Slaton Commutation does not mention evidence of bitemarks on Mary Phagan's shoulder, neck or anywhere else on her body [Chapter 7] and states "The body was not mutilated:..."Nowhere in the testimony can it be found that Mary Phagan was bitten on her breast.

Where did these claims come from?  The report of such a bite surfaced many years later when in 1964, Pierre Van Passen*, who had studied the evidence and X-rays of the Frank case in 1922, reported that he found X-ray pictures showing the girl had been bitten on the left shoulder and neck before strangulation, and that, moreover, those indentations did not correspond to the X-rays of Leo Frank's teeth.

 *Pierre Van Passen published his book in 1964, To Number our Days.  where he recollects memories back to 1922 when he was living and working at the capital in Georgia for the Atlanta Constitution.  He claimed he found a file at the Fulton County Courthouse and found an envelope with a "sheaf of papers and number of x-ray photos showing teeth indentures."

To Number our Days

Pierre van Paassen, 1964; Pages 237-238

“The Jewish community of Atlanta at that time seemed to live under a cloud. Several years previously one of its members, Leo Frank, had been lynched as he was being transferred from the Fulton Tower Prison in Atlanta to Milledgeville for trial on a charge of having raped and murdered a little girl in his warehouse which stood right opposite the Constitution building. Many Jewish citizens who recalled the lynching were unanimous in assuring me that Frank was innocent of the crime. *Leo Frank was not lynched as he was being transferred from the Fulton Tower Prison in Atlanta to Milledgeville.  Slaton commutated his sentence on June 21, 1915 where he was moved to Milledgeville.  Leo Frank was in Milledgeville until he was lynched on August 17, 1915.

“I took to reading all the evidence pro and con in the record department at the courthouse. Before long I came upon an envelope containing a sheaf of papers and a number of X-ray photographs showing teeth indentures. The murdered girl had been bitten on the left shoulder and neck before being strangled. But the X-ray photos of the teeth marks on her body did not correspond with Leo Frank’s set of teeth of which several photos were included. If those photos had been published at the time of the murder, as they should have been, the lynching would probably not have taken place.

“Though, as I said, the man died several years before, it was not too late, I thought, to rehabilitate his memory and perhaps restore the good name of his family. I showed Clark Howell the evidence establishing Frank’s innocence and asked permission to run a series of articles dealing with the case and especially with the evidence just uncovered. Mr. Howell immediately concurred, * but the most prominent Jewish lawyer in the city, Mr. Harry Alexander, whom I consulted with a view to have him present the evidence to the grand jury, demurred. He said Frank had not even been tried. Hence no new trial could be requested. *Frank was arrested, tried and convicted of Mary Phagan’s murder on August 25, 1913. Moreover, the Jewish community in its entirety still felt nervous about the incident. If I wrote the articles old resentments might be stirred up and, who knows, some of the unknown lynchers might recognize themselves as participants in my description of the lynching. It was better, Mr. Alexander thought, to leave sleeping lions alone. Some local rabbis were drawn into the discussion and they actually pleaded with Clark Howell to stop me from reviving interest in the Frank case as this was bound to have evil repercussions on the Jewish community.

“That someone had blabbed out of school became quite evident when I received a printed warning saying: ‘Lay off the Frank case if you want to keep healthy.’ The unsigned warning was reinforced one night or, rather, early one morning when I was driving home. A large automobile drove up alongside of me and forced me into the track of a fast-moving streetcar coming from the opposite direction. My car was demolished, but I escaped without a scratch….”

Autopsy Report

Never Before Published Mary Phagan Autopsy Photo, Released 2013

The Battered Clothing of Mary Phagan, who was murdered at around noon on Saturday, April 26, 1913

1913. H. F. HARRIS, Sworn for the State, August, 1913.

I am a practicing Physician. I made an examination of the body of Mary Phagan on May 5th [1913].

[Skull and Head]

On removing the skull I found there was no actual break of the skull, but a little hemorrhage under the skull, corresponding to point where blow had been delivered, which shows that the blow was hard enough to have made the person unconscious. This wound on the head was not sufficient to have caused death.

[Strangulation]

I think beyond any question she came to her death from strangulation, from this cord being wound around her neck.

[Left Fist Punches the Victims Right Eye]

The bruise around the [right] eye was caused by a soft instrument, because it didn’t show the degree of contusion that would have been produced by a hard instrument. The outside cuticle of the skin wasn’t broken. The injury to the [right] eye and scalp were caused before death.

[Stomach]

I examined the contents of the stomach, finding 160 cubic centimeters of cabbage and biscuit, or wheaten bread. It had progressed very slightly towards digestion. It is impossible for one to say absolutely how long this cabbage had been in the stomach, but I feel confident that she was either killed or received the blow on the back of the head [From the solid iron handle of the bench lathe found in the metal room] within a half hour after she finished her meal [(According to Mrs. Coleman, 11:30 a.m. is when Mary Phagan ate her last meal)]. I have some cabbage here from two normal persons. Here was same meal taken of cabbage and wheaten bread by two men of normal stomach, and contents taken out within an hour. We found there was very little cabbage left.

[Genitals]

I made an examination of the privates of Mary Phagan. I found no spermatozoa. On the walls of the vagina there was evidences of violence of some kind. The epithelium was pulled loose, completely detached in places, blood vessels were dilated immediately beneath the surface and a great deal of hemorrhage in the surrounding tissues. The dilation of the blood vessels indicated to me that the injury had been made in the vagina some little time before death. Perhaps ten to fifteen minutes. It had occurred before death by reason of the fact that these blood vessels were dilated. Inflammation had set in and it takes an appreciable length of time for the process of inflammatory change to begin. There was evidence of violence in the neighborhood of the hymen.

[Rigor Mortis]

Rigor mortis varies so much that it is not accurate to state how long after death it sets in. It may begin in a few minutes and may be delayed for hours.

[Estimated Range for Time of Death Based on 11:30 a.m. Meal Digestion: Twelve Noon to 12:15 p.m. on Saturday April 26, 1913]

I could not state from the examination how long Mary Phagan was dying. It is my opinion that she lived from a half [noon] to three-quarters of an hour [12:15 p.m.] after she ate her [brunch] meal [at 11:30 a.m. according to Mrs. Coleman, Mary’s biological mother who testified she served her daughter a meal, before she left].

[Sexual Violence: Rape]

The evidence of violence in the vagina had evidently been done just before death.

[Forensics of Strangulation]

The fact that the child was strangled to death was indicated by the lividity, the blueness of the parts, the congestion of the tongue and mouth and the blueness of the hands and fingernails.

[Lungs]

The lungs had the peculiar appearance which is always produced after embalming when formaldehyde is used. I am of the opinion that the wound on the back of the head could not have been produced by this stick (referring to: Defendant’s Exhibit 48, Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, 1913).

[(Exhibit 48 was a bloody stick planted on the first floor of the National Pencil Company factory, by associates of the Leo Frank legal defense team, nearly three weeks (20 days) after the crime, and discovered by Detective McWorth of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The significance of the bloody stick planted in the lobby, was that 3 weeks after the murder, other evidence like a pay envelop was put at the lobby where Conley had sat on Saturday, April 26, 1913. The stick was another failed effort to develop forensic evidence that Phagan was assaulted by Jim Conley in the lobby, when she walked down the stairs from the second floor, this planted evidence was in contradiction to all the forensic evidence suggesting Leo Frank murdered Mary Phagan in the metal room at the rear of the second floor. The stick was discovered by Detective McWorth around May 15th, 1913. Detective McWorth was relieved of his services in the Mary Phagan murder investigation after he kept on discovering planted evidence in the lobby of the National Pencil Company, three weeks after Atlanta Police had meticulously searched the building for clews.)]

[Microscope Analysis to Determine if Menstruation Could have Caused the Evidence of Violence to the Vagina]

I made a microscopic examination of the vagina and uterus. Natural menses would cause an enlargement of the uterus, but not of the vagina. In my opinion the menses could not have caused any dilation of the blood vessels and discoloration of the walls.

[Stomach and Digestion Analysis]

From my own experiments I find that the behavior of the stomach after taking a small meal of cabbage and bread is practically the same as taking some biscuit and water alone. I examined Mary Phagan’s stomach. It was normal in size, normal in position, and normal in every particular.

I made a microscopic examination of the contents in Mary Phagan’s case. It showed plainly that it had not begun to dissolve, or only to a very slight degree, and indicated that the process of digestion had not gone on to any extent at the time that this girl was rendered unconscious. I found that the starch she had eaten had undergone practically no alteration. The contents taken from the little girl’s stomach was examined chemically and the result showed that there were only slight traces of the first action of the digestive juices on the starch. It was plainly evident that none of the material had gone into the small intestines. As soon as food is put in the stomach the beginning of the secretion of the hydrochloric acid is found.

It is from the quantity of this acid that the stomach secretes that doctors judge the state and degree of digestion. In this case the acid had not been secreted in such an excess that any of it had become what we call free. In this case the amount of acid in this girl’s stomach was combined and was 32 degrees. Ordinarily in a normal stomach at the end of an hour it runs from 50 to 70 or 80. I found none of the pancreatic juices in the stomach which are usually found, about an hour after digestion starts.

CROSS EXAMINATION BY DEFENSE:

I don’t remember when Mr. Dorsey first talked to me about making this autopsy. As long as the heart was beating you could have put a piece of rope around the neck of this little girl and produced the same results as I found. I took about five or six ounces altogether out of the stomach. It was all used up in making my experiments. I know of no experiments made as to the effect of gastric juices where the patient is dead. The juices of the body after death gradually evaporate. The chemical analysis of each cabbage varies, not only in the plant but from the way it is cooked. It is a very vague matter as to what influences may retard digestion. Every individual is almost a law unto himself. To a certain extent different vegetables affect different stomachs different ways, but the average normal stomach digests anything that is eaten within reason. Some authorities claim that exercise will retard digestion. I don’t know that mental activity would have very much effect in retarding the digestion.

It is the generally accepted opinion that food begins to pass out of the stomach through the pyloris in about a half an hour. A great many things pass out of the stomach that are not digested. The juices of the stomach make no change in them. The stomach does not emulsify a solid. I never knew a normal man who could digest a solid. The science of digestion is rather a modern thing. I did not call in any chemist in making this examination. I said it was impossible for any one to say absolutely how long the cabbage had been in the stomach of Mary Phagan before she met her death, not within a minute or five minutes, but I say it was somewhere between one-half an hour and three-quarters. I am certain of that. Of course, if digestion had been delayed this time element would
change.

[Penis, Finger or Object?]

The violence to the private parts might have been produced by the finger or by other means, but I found evidence of violence. It takes a rather considerable knock to tear epithelium off to the extent that bleeding would occur. I found the epithelium completely detached in places and in other places it was not detached. A digital examination means putting the finger in. The swelling and dilation of the blood vessels could be seen only with a microscope. It is impossible to say how much they were swollen.

A scalp wound is very prone to bleed.

-End of Witness Testimony Concerning the Mary Phagan Autopsy, Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, 1913

Sources: Available at littlemaryphagan.com

Mary Phagan? Who is Mary Phagan? I Don’t Know Mary Phagan.

Harry Scott’s statements corroborated the prosecution contention that Leo Frank did actually know Mary Phagan and that Frank lied about not knowing her. Leo Frank confided in Harry Scott that he knew John M. Gantt was intimate with Mary Phagan and led to his arrest.  This statement would damage the credibility of Leo Frank, who claimed he didn’t know Mary Phagan, because the reasoning is that if Leo Frank didn’t know Mary Phagan, then how did he know John M. Gantt was intimate with her? Also, if Phagan had worked on the same floor as Leo Frank for about a year and drew nearly fifty pay envelopes from him, and Frank had to walk by Mary Phagan’s workstation each day to go to the bathroom, it seemed difficult to substantiate that Frank did not know one of his employees according to the prosecution. In sum, Harry Scott being a defense witness and revealing that Leo Frank told him Gantt was intimate with Mary Phagan was a bombshell for Frank, who would still maintain at the trial during his August 18, 1913, testimony that he did not know Mary Phagan. Frank testified well after Harry Scott, creating a situation where the jury had to decide who was more likely to be telling the truth and thus who was more credible.

.

Inconsistencies in the Time of Mary Phagan’s Arrival:

On Sunday, April 27, 1913, Leo Frank told police Mary Phagan came into his office at 12:03 p.m. On Monday, April 28, 1913, Leo Frank told Police Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford in front of numerous officers and detectives (see State’s Exhibit B) that Mary Phagan came into his second floor office on April 26, 1913, between “12:05 and 12:10, maybe 12:07”. Harry Scott, hired by the pencil factory owners, stated at the coroner’s inquest that Leo Frank told him at one point that Mary Phagan had arrived at his second floor office at 12:10 p.m. on April 26, 1913. At the murder trial, when Leo Frank testified, making a statement to the jury on August 18, 1913, he told the court that Mary Phagan had arrived ten to fifteen minutes after Hattie Hall left his office. Miss Hall before the trial said she departed at high noon, and at the trial, she said it was 12:02 p.m. when she left Frank and thus Leo Frank’s trial testimony puts Mary Phagan coming into his office at 12:12 to 12:17 on April 26, 1913.

See: Leo M. Frank Georgia Supreme Court Case File (1,800 images, Volumes 1 & 2).

Coroner’s Inquest:  Jim Conley did not testify at the Coroner’s Inquest.

We, the coroner’s jury, empaneled and sworn by Paul Donehoo, coroner of Fulton County, to inquire into the death of Mary Phagan, whose dead body now lies before us, after having heard the evidence of sworn witnesses, and the statement of Dr. J. W. Hurt, County Physician, find that the deceased came to her death from strangulation. We recommend that Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee be held under charges of murder for further investigation by the Fulton County grand jury.

(signed)

Homer C. Ashford, Foreman
Dr. J. W. Hurt, County Physician

Coroner Donehoo approved the unanimous finding of the inquest jury.

Rosser’s Grilling of Negro Leads to Hot Clashes by Lawyers:

August 5, 1913: Amazing Testimony of Conley Marks Crucial Point of Trial, Says Frank Admitted Crime (Atlanta Constitution)

August 5, 1913: Conley Grilled Five Hours by Luther Rosser (Atlanta Constitution)

August 4, 1913: Jim Conley Tells an Amazing Story; Many New and Sensational Features Added to Tale as Originally Given to Police (Atlanta Journal)

August 4, 1913: Many Discrepancies Between Conley’s Testimony and His Testimony Given to Detectives (Atlanta Journal)

August 5, 1913: Defense Moves to Strike Most Damaging Testimony (Atlanta Journal)

August 5, 1913: Lawyers on Both Sides Satisfied with Conley (Atlanta Journal)

August 7, 1913: Judge’s Decision Admits Conley Testimony in Full (Atlanta Constitution)

August 4, 1913

Atlanta Georgian

O.B Keeler

Atlanta Georgian
August 4^th, 1913

Conley withstood Luther Rosser’s bullying, badgering tactics that routed and humiliated other witnesses for 3 days! The negro forgot nothing, omitted nothing that he had told before. If he was telling a black lie to save his own neck from the gallows, it was still more wonderful. He had a remarkably retentive memory or an imagination far beyond the normal even for his notably imaginative race.

O.B. Keeler, a native Mariettan, reporter and journalist who covered the trial for the Atlanta Georgian, claimed it would have been impossible for Conley to invent such testimony, and the Atlanta Constitution reported:

“No such record has ever been made in a criminal court case in this country.  Conley may be telling the truth in the main, or he may be lying altogether.  He may be the real murderer or he may have been an accomplice after the fact.  “Be these things as they may, he is one of the most remarkable Negroes that has ever been seen in this section of the country.  His nerve seems unshakable.  His wit is ever ready.  As hour by hour the attorneys for the defense hammered away and failed to entrap the Negro, the enormity of the evidence became apparent.

Finally came the virtual confession of the defense that they had failed to entrap the Negro and they asked that the evidence be stricken from the records. The Negro withstood the fire and Frank’s attorneys are seeking to have the evidence expunged from the records.”

Mob shouting antisemitic outside the door with the windows:

According to Steve Oney, considered the ADL expert::

And the Dead Shall Rise, 2003

Steve Oney

Page 453:

“On the last day I was in Atlanta I went to the office of one of Frank’s lawyers to say good-bye.  The telephone rang.  *“If they don’t hang that Jew, we’ll hang you,” came the message. This phrase – ‘If they don’t hang that Jew, we’ll hang you’- would not enter the popular consciousness, with many of the condemned man’s supporters claiming that it had been chanted by crowds at the trial.”

The Phagan Family Newsletter #4 January 2020; March 2020:

Former governor Roy Barnes Claims Leo Frank Did Not Kill Mary Phagan: He Insists that the Century-Old conviction was “wrong”.

http://www.littlemaryphagan.com

Here, again, Steve Oney is clear: “[I]t didn’t happen. It was something that someone wrote a couple years after the crime, and then it got stuck into subsequent recountings of the story…. Jews were accepted in the city, and the record does not substantiate subsequent reports that the crowd outside the courtroom shouted at the jurors: ‘Hang the Jew or we’ll hang you.’” In the book Night Fell on Georgia, by Charles and Louise Samuels, they write: “Leo Frank was a Jew, but at the time there was little, if any anti-Semitism in Atlanta.” The Breman Museum stopped making the false claim of anti-Semitic chants. Only Roy Barnes and his ADL cohorts continue that propaganda.

SOS:

There were only two ways of getting into the basement, the elevator and scuttle hole ladder.  The ladder rested on the dirt floor and it ran up to a hole which was covered by a trap door. The bottom of the elevator shaft was uneven so it could have rest on one part and not touch the others; elevators at that time did not always exactly hit the bottom.

The scuttle hole is two feet by two feet and three inches- or about four and one-half square feet.  Witness said it was difficult for one person to pass through the hole and descend the ladder.  It closes with a door that fits into the floor and that can be easily lifted.  From this, down to the dirt floor of the basement, is a ladder-not stairs made of two scantlings and a great number of rungs or rounds.  The basement is deep- the ladder is about twelve feet long.  The basement has a dirt floor.  It is very dirty from the coal dust ashesm cinders-almost anything that makes dirt is such a place.

Brief of Evidence, 1913

The Leo Frank Case

Inside Story of Georgia’s Greatest Murder Mystery

Published by Atlanta Publishing Company

1913

Page 15:

“In his nervousness, Frank did not see that the elevator rope was caught, and Darley reached over and helped him release it. After viewing the basement room where the body was found, the party returned upstairs.”

Page 27-28:

“Officer Brown followed Anderson on the stand, and gave testimony extremely damaging to Newt Lee, declaring, as did Anderson, that it was impossible to tell that the body was that of a white girl unless within a very few feet of it. He said that only until he rolled down the stocking below the knee and saw the flesh could he tell that the girl was white. He described the fearfully dirty appearance of the body, stating that only by being dragged could it have accumulated so much dirt and grime.”

Page 51:

“Then Mr. Frank hops off the elevator before it gets even with the second floor and he makes a stumble and hits the floor and catches with both hands…”

Page 75:

“The defense sought to show on cross-examination that the distinct track did not begin at the elevator but a few feet away at the foot of the ladder from the scuttle hole in the first floor.  Sergeant Dobbs, testimony was to the effect that indications of the dragging of the body begain at the side of the elevator pit.”

Much has been made of Conley’s admission that defecated in the elevator shaft on Saturday morning, and the idea that, because the detectives crushed the feces for the first time when they rode down in the elevator the next day, Conley’s story that and Frank used the elevator to bring Mary Phagan’s body to the basement of Saturday afternoon could not be true -thus bringing Conley’s entire story into question.  But how could anyone determine with certainty that the “crushing” was the “first crushing” And nowhere in the voluminous records of the case – including Governor Slaton’s Commutation Order in which he details his supposed tests of the elevator – can we find evidence that anyone made even the most elementary inquiry into whether or not the bottom surface of the elevator was uniformly flat. Furthermore, the so-called “shit if the shaft” theory of Frank’s innocence also breaks down when we consider the fact that the detectives inspected the floor of the elevator shaft before riding down in the elevator, and found in it Mary Phagan’s parasol and a large quantity of trash and debris.  Detective R. M. Lassiter stated at the inquest into Mary Phagan’s death, in answer to the question “is the bottom of the elevator shaft of concrete or wood, or what?”  “I don’t know.  It was full of trash and I couldn’t see.”  There was so much trash there, the investigator couldn’t even tell what the floor of the shaft was made of.

There may well have been enough trash, and arranged in such a way, to have prevented the crushing of the waste material when Frank and Conley used the elevator to transport Mary Phagan’s body to the basement.

Coroner’s Inquest

Knights of Mary Phagan:

First mention of Knights of Mary Phagan appeared in the New York Times on June 26, 1915:

New York Times, June 26, 1915; No source

First mention of “Knights of Mary Phagan” seven weeks before the August 17^th lynching written anonymously: “Violence Feared in Atlanta Today,” last paragraph:

“One of the strangest of these meetings is reported to have been held at Marietta, where Mary Phagan is buried.  One hundred and fifty citizens are said to have met at Mary Phagan’s grave and formed an oath-bound organization to avenge her death.  This body is to be known as the “Knights of Mary Phagan”, and it is the purpose of the organizers to form lodges over Georgia, the members being pledged never to rest until the murder of the girl has been avenged.  There seems to be little doubt that such a body has been formed.”

None of the three Atlanta-based newspapers mention “Knights of Mary ‘s Phagan”

Jeffersonian, June 24, 1915

Tom Watson

No reference to the Knights of Mary Phagan in this issue or any issue of the Jeffersonian or Watson’s Magazine [called Vigilance Committee in Jeffersonian, August 19, 26, 1915].

Mobs: PowerPoint Presentation

August 16, 1915 A mob of men overpower guards at the prison and kidnap Frank from the infirmary.

Called themselves the Vigilance Committee- you stated “this was not a mob that got upset, busted into the prison, pulled him out and lynched him on site. This was a very well planned operation.”

Marietta Vigilance Committee flyer – exodus of Jews in droves

Exodus of Jews:

A Little Girl is Dead, 1965

Harry Golden

Pages: 275-276

“By noon, all the Jewish businessmen had closed shop, and on the South Side people had sent their colored servants home.  Jews locked their homes and, in the afternoon, began checking into the hotels, the Winecoff, the Kimball House, the Georgia Terrace, and the Piedmont. Many of the Jewish men took their families to the railroad station and sent their wives and children to relatives outside the state.”

Strangers within the Gate City:  The Jews of Atlanta, 1845-1915 (Philadelphia, 1978)

Steven Hertzberg

Page 213:

“Harry Golden has written that all Jewish businessmen closed shop, locked their homes, and checked into hotels, most remaining for several days.  However, while Jews undoubtedly preferred the safety of hotel rooms and a few send their families out of the state, there was no dramatic exodus or panic.  The Jews were frightened, but most went about their business as usual, and no serious incidents occurred.”

Page 217:

“From 4,000 in 1910, the Jewish population rose to 10,000 in 1948, 16,500 in 1968, and 21,000 in 1976.”

The Jew Accused, 1991

Albert S. Lindemann

Page 270:

“Earlier accounts of this period, particularly Golden’s A Little Girl is Dead, presented a picture of Jewish panic, of exodus from the city but a more recent and careful scholar [Hertzberg] has concluded that ‘there was no dramatic exodus or panic [Jews]. The Jews were frightened, but most went about their business as usual and no serious incidents occurred.”

Page 275:

“Even when is Atlanta, where the Jewish community was deeply shaken by the Frank Affair and where Jewish leaders long opposed efforts to rehabilitate Frank because of the hostility such efforts might revive, Jews continued to move into the city in numbers no less impressive than before the Frank Affair.”

Institute of Southern Jewish Life Study

Goldring/Woldenberg, 2006

http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/ga/atlanta.html

“The Community Grows

Despite the fears stemming from the Frank lynching, Atlanta’s Jewish community continued to grow.  In 1910 there had been 4.000 Jews, by 1937 there were 12,000.”

Alonzo Mann:

1983 pardon: DENIED based on Alonzo Mann’s Testimony.  The parole board held in 1983 that the evidence did not prove Mr. Frank was innocent. The one-page pardon issued today said, ''Such a standard of proof, especially for a 70-year-old case, is almost impossible to satisfy.''

Mr. Snow said the board told the Jewish groups that their original petition, which asserted Mr. Frank's innocence, had left the board ''limited in what we could do.''

1986 Pardon:  Without attempting to address the question of guilt or innocence, and in recognition of the state's failure to protect the person of Leo Frank and thereby preserve his opportunity for continued legal appeal of his conviction*, and in recognition of the state's failure to bring his killer to justice, and as an effort to heal old wounds, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, in compliance with its constitutional and statutory authority, hereby grants to Leo M. Frank a pardon. *all legal appeals had been exhausted.

Sign Change:  December 2, 1995

Transcription of The Marietta Daily Journal, Saturday, December 2nd, 1995

Article from the 2nd day of December in the year 1995, published in the Marietta Daily Journal, about the dishonest and opaque changing of a historical marker without informing the public, until citizens noticed the brazen change and raised the issue.

Family of Mary Phagan protests marker change

Without a formal vote and with the press absent, Marietta City Council has changed the inscription on the city's historic marker at the grave of rape-murder victim Mary Phagan in the Marietta City Cemetery. The Phagan family is blaming Councilman Philip Goldstein.

The descendants of Miss Phagan are upset because the family was not notified before or after the change, and only learned of it on a cemetery-cleaning visit. The family says the newly-placed marker - which sits on a city-maintained path near the grave and is not to be confused with Miss Phagan's ornate tombstone, which makes no mention of the circumstances of her death - omits the reason for the 1986 posthumous pardon given Leo Frank.

Frank - Miss Phagan's boss - was convicted in 1913 by a Fulton Superior Court jury of the 13-year-old girl's murder in an Atlanta pencil factory and sentenced to hang. When Gov. John Slaton commuted Frank's sentence to life in 1915, a group of Marietta men abducted Frank from the state prison near Milledgeville and lynched him near what is now the Big Chicken on Frey's Gin Road in Marietta.

The Phagan family initially opposed placing a marker at their ancestor's grave, fearing there would be increased damage to the cemetery plot and curiosity seekers would leave graffiti. That hasn't happened. Late Mayor Joe Mack Wilson told east Cobb resident and Cherokee County special education teacher Mary Phagan Keen, a great-niece of Mary Phagan, that the grave was the most sought by visitors to Marietta and should have a marker, along with several other notable graves in the cemetery.

Mayor Wilson told the Phagan family the city would let them approve the text of the marker. The family insisted the unusual conditions of Frank's 1986 pardon be explained. That was done. Now controversy has arisen because that portion of the marker has been changed.

The Georgia Pardons and Parole Board in 1983 turned down a request for a pardon based on Frank's alleged innocence. Frank's former office boy, Alonzo Mann, told two Nashville Tennessean newsmen he saw black janitor Jim Conley holding a limp body in his arms the day of the murder. In its 1983 denial of a pardon for Frank, the board said after Mann's testimony it "did not find conclusive evidence proving beyond any doubt that Frank was innocent."

A new parole board then granted Frank a pardon in 19896 on the grounds the state did not protect him in prison, thereby allowing him to be lynched and thus ending any further court appeals. Frank's conviction was appealed unsuccessfully by his lawyers three times to the Georgia Supreme Court and twice to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 1986 pardon said: "Without attempting to address the question of guilt or innocence, and in recognition of the state's failure to protect the person of Leo M. Frank and thereby preserve his opportunity for continued legal appeal of his conviction, and in recognition of the state's failure to bring his killers to justice, and as an effort to heal old wounds...the board hereby grants to Leo M. Frank a pardon." The family opposed the 1986 pardon, and now is irked at the council and Goldstein.

"We are as much a victim as the family of Leo Frank," said Ms. Keen. For 80 years, we have been the object of the curiosity[sic]-seekers and subjected to unfair and untrue books and TV docudramas. The current council didn't show the same respect to us as did Mayor Wilson and a previous council." Ms. Keen's father, James Phagan, said the action was "extremely insensitive of the council" and "disingenuous of Councilman Goldstein. How can you separate Mary Phagan and Leo Frank?" he asked. "Can you mention the Holocaust and not mention Hitler? It's simply pandering by Councilman Goldstein to a segment of the community. It's another effort to change history."

The inscription change was made by the Parks and Tourism Committee chaired by Councilman Dan Cox. Members are Councilwoman Betty Hunter and Goldstein. The full council OK'd the action. Cox admitted the committee had yielded to "political pressure" by Goldstein and the Jewish community. Calling the change "a no-win situation," Cox said he reluctantly consented to the change "because it offended a part of the community."

On the 80th anniversary of Frank's lynching Aug. 17, a group of Jewish leaders led by Rabbi Steven Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in east Cobb said the historic marker at Mary Phagan's grave should be removed. The group placed a small plaque in the side of the VPI Corp. building owned by Roy Varner at 1200 Roswell St., near the site of Frank's lynching. The plaque reads: "Wrongly Accused, Falsely Convicted and Wantonly Murdered." Attending the ceremony were Marietta Councilmen Goldstein and James Dodd, who told Jewish leaders they would look into removing the line of the marker that refers to the pardon conditions.

"This is a plaque that marks the grave of Mary Phagan," said Goldstein. "The last two lines deal with information on Leo Frank, and it's not his grave." Goldstein was quoted in the Jewish Times as saying: "The wording is factually correct. The mention of Frank on Phagan's marker should be deleted because it is irrelevant, not because it upsets the Jewish community."

It was Dodd who brought the matter before council, supported by Goldstein. "This is a lose-lose situation for me," Goldstein said. The marker referring to the condition of Frank's pardon has been removed and replaced with a previous marker the Phagan family had objected to.

March 15, 2024

Judge McAfee Ruling:

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been given the green light to remain the lead prosecutor in the high-profile investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. This decision comes despite explosive allegations of impropriety due to a prior romantic relationship with a prosecutor she hired to lead the case. However, the endorsement from the judge comes with a notable caveat: special prosecutor Nathan Wade must resign from the case for it to proceed smoothly.  Nathan Wade resigned after the ruling was announced.

Despite the defense’s allegations of a financial benefit stemming from her relationship with Wade, the court found no evidence that Willis had financially benefited from the case. “The evidence demonstrated that the financial gain flowing from her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor on the part of the District Attorney to indict and prosecute,” McAfee ruled, dismantling the core argument for Willis’ disqualification.

The ruling carries significant implications for the progression of the case, which charges Trump and several co-defendants with attempting a criminal enterprise to unlawfully reverse the state’s election results. The controversy surrounding Willis and Wade had threatened to disrupt or derail the case, potentially affecting its trajectory ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Now, with Judge McAfee’s decision, Willis can continue to build upon the more than two years of investigation into the case.

In striking detail, the courtroom heard intimate aspects of Willis’ personal life, including testimony from Willis herself, who fiercely defended her role. “You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020,” she asserted. The district attorney has also been accused of misconduct by former Trump campaign aide Mike Roman, but Willis maintained her professional integrity throughout the proceedings.

As the case presses on, four of Trump’s original co-defendants have already pleaded guilty, while the rest, including the former president, await their fate in a state where they are accused of engaging in actions like promoting a “fake elector” scheme and pressuring officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to manipulate the election outcome.

Ruling:151-order-03-15-2024

Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy

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 [CUI]. 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 County District Attorney 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

RESEARCH AGAIN:

On December 19, 2019, I went to the Georgia State Archives to review former Governor Frank Harris' files regarding the Leo Frank Case for economic boycott to Georgia.  There were 2 folders- most were letters (approximately 75) to the former governor from individuals and 1 was from a business that would boycott Georgia.  No threat of economic boycott!

December 2019: State Board of Pardons and Paroles Open Records Request:

-40 telephone contacts to Silas Moore

-14 letters from individuals asking governor to pardon Leo Frank

-Trial Transcript provided- trial transcript disappeared in 1965; should be Brief of Evidence

-Resolution from State Senate, October 28,

-1982 Board Minutes, December 23, 1983, Board Decision

-Two letters to Edgar Neely, attorney

-Two letters to George Keeler

-One letter to Charles Wittenstein request to grant a full pardon

-Dale Schwartz letter of acknowledgement of pardon application.

Submitted a request to "declassify the Leo Frank confidential state secrets" REQUEST DENIED DECEMBER 18, 2019.

.

This old complaint of anti-Semitism [sensationalized atmosphere] continues today even though the ADL's own expert, Steve Oney ANDSR in 2003 said it DID NOT HAPPEN and the DOWNRIGHT LIES continue in order to exonerate Leo Frank! 

A teenager in 1913?

Mary Phagan was a little girl and not until 1944 did Americans start using the word "teenager*".  [*"Teenager" describes a group of people between the ages of 13 and 19 and wasn't used in society until 1944 according to research on internet.]  

It's time to question who writes these markers being placed that are revising history!

In 2015, August 4, Around Town in Marietta Daily Journal

In August 2015, a ginormous neon-cyan colored nighttime Billboard blinded the sky with a message that Leo Frank was innocent.

Around the 100th anniversary of Leo Frank’s lynching, Rabbi Steven Lebow had paid for a billboard that featured a picture of Leo Frank in the Atlanta area stating “Leo Frank is innocent” as a part of his pressure on Georgia political leaders to issue an explicit exoneration of Frank, including a number of high-profile media events. Mary Phagan-Kean’s reaction was strong and to the point (Marietta Daily Journal):

"Among those who likely won’t be attending any of those events is retiree Mary Phagan Kean of Ellijay, the grand-niece and namesake of “Little Mary” Phagan. Kean has served as her family’s spokesperson in recent decades, giving voice to the many here who still think Frank was guilty.

His 1986 pardon was the result of political pressure and *threatened economic pressure, she says. *Economic pressure didn't exist according to former governor Joe Frank Harris files located at the Georgia Archives.  On December 19, 2019, I visited the Georgia Archives and reviewed the files on Former Governor Joe Frank Harris to determine "economic pressure".  Seventy-six letters [76] were written to the Governor regarding the pardon for Leo Frank - only one mentioned "economic pressure"!!!!!

“That’s why they granted it,” Kean said. “They could not prove that Leo Frank was not guilty. (That ruling) was bought and paid for by the supporters of Leo Frank. That rabbi (Lebow) needs to stop all this cr-p. It’s already been decided. He has no clue what he does to our family when he brings this up.”  Who is he? He has no connections to the Frank family, but he is eager to stir up trouble.  Tell him to stop.  He wants a new Marietta?  Well, the new Marietta needs to move on."

Rabbi Steve Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb [pictured below].  Lebow says he’s trying to get the lynching marker out of storage for a centennial event planned for next month, but it didn't happen until August 23, 2018.

Rabbi Lebow is very active in the cause of Leo Frank, and says of the pardon, “That's not enough.” He wants Frank to be declared innocent and will ask the Georgia General Assembly, Cobb County and the city of Marietta to exonerate Frank.

Rabbi Lebow stated August 11, 2015, in Around Town, Marietta Daily Journal:  "I am under no illusion that Frank would be exonerated by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, and I presume that ship has sailed.  There is no going back for a new pardon."

Lebow is seeking a political solution, ["political bullying"] not a legal one:  "What I'd like to see is a statement either from the governor or declaration by the Georgia House and Senate that would be something like --------'Resolved: in light of historical research, it is fair to assume that Leo M. Frank was innocent of all charges.'  Nothing more ---but nothing less.

"I think a simple statement like the one above would be the best we could do towards exoneration.  If such a statement were to emerge as a non-binding resolution, I think we could all move on." 

Historical Research? 

"We came to demand that Leo Frank's name finally be cleared; it's been 100 years, and every historian now knows that he was innocent."[August 17, 2015, MDJ]

What historical research and by whom?  Most of the calls for exoneration of Leo Frank are made by *Jewish American Revisionists scholars of the Leo Frank Case *[C.P. Connolly, The Truth About the Frank Case, 1914[*3Charles and Louise Samuels, Night Fell on Georgia, 1956]; [Steve Oney, And the Dead Shall Rise, 2003],  [*Leonard Dinnerstein, The Leo Frank Case, 1991 Special] [*Harry Golden,  A Little Girl is Dead, 1965]; [*Elaine Marie Alphin, An Unspeakable Crime, 2010];[*Jeffrey Melnick, Black-Jewish Relations on Trial; Leo Frank and Jim Conley in the New South, 2000]; [*Donald Wilkes Flagpole Magazine, May 5, 2004]; [Former Governor Roy Barnes, Mercer Law, November 2019] whose historical research is a deliberate effort to deceive with fabrication of data, misrepresentation of historical sources, and suppression of truth.   Frank was convicted because he was a sexual predator and murderer.

On August 17, 2015, at Temple Kol Emeth Rabbi Lebow calls for Governor Nathan deal to clear Frank's name once and for all. "Rabbi Lebow is also circulating a petition on the Internet but there is no support! [less than 200 signatures]. 

It is quite obvious Rabbi Lebow doesn't know the facts about the trial [has he read the Brief of Evidence?  Newspaper articles from the Atlanta Journal, Atlanta Constitution and Atlanta Georgian 1913?  Appeals?  Georgia Supreme Court and U. S. Supreme Court?] and falsely states:

"Frank was subsequently convicted on false testimony, given on the stand by many suspect to be the real murderer, Jim Conley.

Frank's trial, from beginning to end, was a legal farce.  Witnesses were coerced to say they had seen Leo Frank with the girl that day. Then many of those witnesses later recanted their story. The forensic evidence had been "cooked". The jury was instructed that the girl's hair and blood had been found next to Frank's office.

Convinced that the entire trial had been a sham, Governor Slaton mounted an independent investigation of the crime. Slaton's conclusion was inescapable; Frank had been falsely accused and then wrongly convicted. 

 Slaton's Commutation Order 

Slaton read the entire trial transcript and his conclusion found no errors and did not state Frank had been falsely accused and then wrongly convicted.

This “reasoning” and “facts” is what Leo Frank supporters:  ADL, former Governor Roy Barnes, Rabbi Lebow, and others consistently claim.

Timeline of events for the 100th anniversary of Leo Frank lynching:

Around Town, Marietta Daily Journal, August 4, 2015

"Thursday, August 13:  Earl Smith Strand on the Square; 8:00 p.m. Georgia Historical Society will present "The Ghost of Leo Frank: Reckoning with Georgia's Most Infamous Murders 100 years Later."

Guest will be Steve Oney, author of And the Dead Shall rise:  The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank." Others will include GHS senior historian Stan Deaton and historian Dr. Elaine B. Andrews.

On Saturday, August 15, senior assistant Attorney General, Van Pearlberg will present a free lecture at 7:00 p.m. on the Frank Case at Congregation Ner Tamid, 1349 Old Highway 41m Suite 220 in Marietta.

On Sunday, August 16, Lebow's "Leo Frank Exoneration Memorial Service will be 2:00 pm at Temple Kol Emeth in east cobb.  Speakers include Georgia Chief Justice Hugh P. Thompson, Van Pearlberg, Cobb Superior Court Chief Justice Stephen Schuster, and Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee.

At 6:00 p.m. later that day, The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw will host a VIP reception for its new exhibit "Seeking Justice" with speakers former Governor Roy Barnes and Dr. Marni Davis of Georgia State University."

Nathan Deal Letter

Mary Phagan-Kean
498 Ebenezer Road
Ellijay, Georgia 30536
August 19, 2015

Governor Nathan Deal
Office of the Governor
206 Washington Street
111 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Re: Leo Frank Political Solution

Dear Governor Deal:
My name is Mary Phagan-Kean and I am the great-niece and namesake of" Little Mary Phagan" who was raped and murdered by Leo Frank on April 26, 1913.

The Phagan family has no objection to anyone expressing their opinions on this case but we do insist organizations /personal campaigns preserve history by making sure that the truth and facts are not distorted to "use this case for their own purposes/prejudicial purposes". For over 100 years, each decade brought forth new "historical evidence" to exonerate Leo Frank. The Phagan family has stated since 1982 if there was clear-cut evidence to clear Leo Frank, we would come forward and ask for exoneration. However, the historical evidence has never come to light.

I am sure that you are aware of the personal campaign by Rabbi Steven Lebow to completely EXONERATE Leo Frank.

Please consider the following facts:
1. Rabbi Lebow is in no way related to Leo Frank.
2. Rabbi Lebow has a personal campaign (public dignitaries, billboards, t-shirts, coca cola bottles, social media, etc.) to exonerate Leo Frank based on distortions/untruths and manipulation of facts. For example, tactics include:
a. Claims of anti-semitism during the trial of Leo Frank.
In the fifth volume of Cahan's memoirs, published in Yiddish in 1931, Leo Frank,
himself, states: ""Anti-Semitism is absolutely not the reason for this libel that has been framed against me:' Frank told Cahan. "It isn't the source nor the result of this sad story."
b. Captions from the original newspaper pictures of the day have been modified to support their propaganda/agenda.
c. Markers/plaques have been replaced and omit information leading the reader to believe that Leo Frank was pardoned for the murder of "Little Mary Phagan."

Rabbi Lebow states he is going to seek a "political solution" for Leo Frank.
See Marietta Daily Journal dated August 11, 2015:
"I am under no illusion that Frank would be exonerated by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles," he said. "I presume that ship has sailed. There is no going back for a new pardon."
He goes on to say:

What I'd like to see is a statement either from the governor or a nonbinding statement of declaration by the Georgia House and Senate that would be something like this'
"Resolved, In light of historical research, it is fair to assume that Leo M. Frank was innocent of all charges." Nothing more - nothing less. "I think a simple statement like the one above would be the best we could do towards an exoneration. "If such a statement were to emerge as a nonbinding resolution, then I think we could all move on.

"Fair to assume"? There is no place for assumption in an exoneration/statement/declaration.

According to CBS News Channel 46 on August 17, 2015, Rabbi Steven Lebow refers to the "new historical research" from the 1982 Alonzo Mann affidavit.

The historical research referenced by Rabbi Lebow has already been addressed by the State Board of Pardons and Parole Board on March 11, 1986.

In 1983, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considered a request for a Pardon implying innocence but did not find "conclusive evidence proving beyond any doubt that Frank was innocent." Such a standard of proof, especially for a 70year-old case, is almost impossible to satisfy.

Without attempting to address the question of quilt or innocence, and in recognition of the State's failure to protect the person of Leo M. Frank and thereby preserve his opportunity for* continued legal appeal of his conviction, and in recognition of the State's failure to bring his killers to justice, and as an effort to heal old wounds, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, in compliance with its Constitutional and statutory authority, hereby grants to Leo M. Frank a Pardon."
*It should be noted that Leo Frank's appeals were exhausted and no new evidence has come forward

The fact is that Leo M. Frank is guilty and is the convicted murderer of Little Mary Phagan according to historical evidence: trial, appeal process.

If Rabbi Lebow wants an exoneration (to clear or absolve from blame or a criminal charge), he needs to go through the Georgia State Pardons and Parole according to the Georgia Constitution:
Article IV Section II proves his innocence of the crime for which he was convicted under Georgia law" with facts and evidence not political bullying! The good people of Georgia can make up their own mind with regards to Leo Frank's innocence or guilt by delving into the historical research themselves.

Respectfully,

Mary Phagan-Kean; mphagank@aol.com, 706-273-1793

cc: Georgia State Speaker of the House, District 7: The Honorable David Ralston
     Georgia State Senate President Pro Tempore: The Honorable David Shafer

Georgia State Senator District 51:  the Honorable Steve Gooch 

Nathan Deal leaning against pardon for Leo Frank

August 20, 2015 Atlanta Journal/Constitution

A former governor, an ex-Georgia Supreme Court chief and a slew of other notable officials have urged state leaders in recent days to grant Leo Frank a full pardon for the 1913 murder of a teenage factory worker.

But it's not likely to get very far without the support of Gov. Nathan Deal, who appoints the pardons and parole board and can request that they act. On Tuesday, Deal indicated he has little appetite to reopen the case.

"I feel like we have let things run their own course, and this one has done so," he said.

A little backstory: Frank was a Jewish factory superintendent convicted of the 1913 murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan on circumstantial evidence as much of the city was wrapped up in racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. His death sentence was commuted by Governor Slaton but he was seized by a Marietta posse and strung up on an oak tree along where Interstate 75 now runs.

As he decides whether to intervene, Deal said he will discuss the case with Attorney General Sam Olens -- an interesting qualifier, given that Olens is Jewish.

(Olens said through a spokesman that he'd happily discuss the case with the governor when asked. A parole board spokesman said it hasn't received any requests to reopen the case.)

But the governor said he's uncomfortable with "some of the rhetoric associated with the justification" of the pardon.

When pressed on what he meant, Deal added: "When you hear someone start saying this is an indication we should do away with the death penalty in Georgia, those are collateral issues. If they associate it with this, they're doing harm to their own argument."

He's referring to Norman Fletcher, the former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and ardent opponent of capital punishment.

Fletcher told a panel discussing the Frank Case Sunday that Georgia should "end the practice of the state doing the same thing as the accused: taking the life of a human being, created in the image of God."

***

On September 15, 2015, Marietta Daily Journal  Opinion

Reader's had enough of Leo Frank 'nonsense'

Dear Editor:

I have patiently waited for the "centennial" of the Leo Frank case to pass, waiting for the nonsense to end, but Rabbi Steven Lebow's letter in last Tuesday's MDJ stirred me to write.  You might as well say "Oh, look, here is where are great grandparents had their outhouse, let's go wallow int it."

An exoneration of Leo Frank, who is dead, by people who weren't even born when he was lynched is meaningless. The lynching was questionably wrong.  Without hearing all the evidence, we have no way of knowing he was wrongfully convicted.

There is nothing we can mitigate the wrong that was done.  If you feel you need to apologize to Frank, go to his grave and apologize.  The public wringing of hands is meaningless posturing.

If you are inspired by this case, look at what is going in our community today and protest what is being done to Jews today.  If you look, I think you will see evidence of trying to keep Jews "in their place."  Thomas Sukalac, Powder Springs

 

#BAN the ADL 2023

ADL’s Greenblatt Gets “Community-Noted” on X August 17, 2023

The humiliation of Jonathan Greenblatt, boss at the Jewish pressure/censorship group, the ADL (which was founded in large part to defend sex murderer Leo Frank), continues on the leading social media platform, X.

Every August 17, Greenblatt posts a commemoration of Leo Frank’s hanging, falsely claiming that Frank was innocent and also falsely claiming that Frank was convicted based on “anti-Semitism.” But, due to increasing awareness of the facts of the Leo Frank case, and the rise of truth-telling Web sites like littlemaryphagan.com and others, the experience has not been one that is likely to please Greenblatt. Gone are the days when the ADL and other Jewish groups, with their strong allies in all major media corporations, could suppress free speech on the case.

We reported (see below) on the hiding Greenblatt got at the hands of Twitter users (Twitter has been renamed X by its new owner, Elon Musk) back in 2021. The vast majority of the hundreds of comments Greenblatt received were from users outraged that he was “celebrating the legacy” of a sick child abuser and murderer. The same thing happened on a larger scale in 2022, but Greenblatt was somehow able to pressure pre-Musk Twitter into deleting most of the critical comments.

But with Musk at the helm — and after Musk declared himself to be in favor of free speech on the platform — Greenblatt decided not to take any chances and himself turned off comments on his own post! That’s humiliation number one.

Then came humiliation number two — the semi-official volunteer fact-checkers at X added what is called a Community Note to Greenblatt’s pro-Frank posting, factually stating that Leo Frank had been duly convicted and still stands adjudged guilty of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan and giving links to their sources for those facts.

It’s likely that Greenblatt and the ADL then applied pressure to have the Community Note removed, and this has caused internal strife at X, since the Note disappeared, then reappeared again a few hours later, then disappeared again. Regardless of whether the Note comes back or not, Greenblatt’s — and the ADL’s — humiliation is complete. The truth is out there now. The people know. Greenblatt’s promotion of the ADL’s fake news about the Leo Frank case will not be allowed to continue without vigorous public critique and opposition.

ADL Narrative and Jonathan Greenblatt Questioned AGAIN on Twitter — We are Making an Impact

August 17, 2022

Again, we are seeing the official narrative on the Leo Frank case being questioned — and directly questioning the pro-Frank forces themselves — Jonathan Greenblatt and the ADL. This is taking place on Twitter where more and more people are speaking the truth on who really murdered Mary Phagan in 1913. Despite the evidence, several groups and especially the ADL, want to clear Frank’s name and declare him innocent. As one commenter says, just search for the article, “100 Reasons Leo Frank is Guilty,” and you’ll get the real story — at least the true facts on the case and you can come to your own conclusion after reading these.

Not only are these Tweets inspiring and tell us that we are making a difference, but the ADL article is even admitting that Mary Phagan was raped and mentioning that his exoneration did not actually prove his innocence — both topics which are hotly contested between pro- and anti-Frank forces. Check it out below!

Original Greenblatt Tweet:

Twitter replies:

Making an Impact: ADL Narrative Highly Questioned on Twitter

We have literally never seen this level of questioning of the official narrative on the Leo Frank case before. This is truly extraordinary. After the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published one of their typical pieces on Twitter promoting the endlessly repeated idea that Leo Frank was innocent and a victim of “anti-Semitism,” the response of people on Twitter was overwhelmingly against what the ADL was saying.

https://twitter.com/ADL/status/1427653695689289729

Out of hundreds of replies, over 95% by our count, were critical of, even mocking, the “received narrative.”

Just in case the Tweets or the thread gets taken down, here are the links to many of the responses:

Screenshot #1

Screenshot #2

Screenshot #3

For 100 years, ADL [Anti-Defamation League which was established in late September 1913 after the conviction of Leo Frank] has worked to reverse justice in the murder of little Mary Phagan

In 2008 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth.

Because of roadway renovation, the marker had to be temporarily taken down and put in storage and Rabbi Steve Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb. Lebow says he’s trying to get the lynching marker out of storage for a a rededication to be held in 2015 for the 100th anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank.

Inscription:

Near this location on August 17, 1915, Leo M. Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, was lynched for the murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory employee. A highly controversial trial fueled by societal tensions and anti-Semitism resulted in a guilty verdict in 1913. [This particular claim is central to the belief that anti-Semitism infected Frank’s murder trial and tainted the guilty verdict which didn't happen according to Steve Oney, ADL expert who refuted this claim in 2003.  So why are these organizations [The Georgia Historical Society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth, Historians] continuing to deliberately promote and deceive the public.] After Governor John M. Slaton commuted his sentence from death to life in prison, Frank was kidnapped from the state prison in Milledgeville and taken to Phagan’s hometown of Marietta where he was hanged before a local crowd. Without addressing guilt or innocence, and in recognition of the state’s failure to either protect Frank or bring his killers to justice, he was granted a posthumous pardon in 1986.

LITTLE MARY PHAGAN DAY IN GEORGIA (May 31, 2013 - Atlanta, Ga)    Perhaps the most well-known and most horrific murder in the history of Georgia occurred on April 26, 1913 when little Mary Phagan was brutally raped and murdered while going to collect her wages of $1.20 before attending the parade for the aging Georgia veterans on Confederate Memorial Day. The following proclamation establishing "Little Mary Phagan Day" is hereby published as commencement of an annual remembrance: A Proclamation Little Mary Phagan Day Whereas: Little Mary Phagan was born to Frances Elizabeth L. "Fannie" Phagan Benton Coleman and William Joshua Phagan in Florence, Alabama, on the 1st day of June, in the year of our Lord 1899; and Whereas: After the death of William Joshua Phagan, the family moved to Marietta, Georgia; and Whereas: Fannie Phagan married John W. Coleman in 1912, moving into the downtown Atlanta community of "Cabbagetown" where Little Mary Phagan began employment at the National Pencil Factory in the Spring of 1912; and Whereas: On April 26, 1913, Little Mary Phagan was on her way to celebrate Confederate Memorial Day by attending the parade of those aging Confederate veterans; and Whereas: Little Mary Phagan never made the parade, as she was beaten, raped, and brutally murdered, body thrown down an elevator shaft at the age of thirteen years old; and Whereas: The United Confederate Veterans and the Masons raised money to bury her at Marietta City Cemetery. She lies in the Southeast corner where Cemetery Street and West Atlanta Street intersect, adjacent to the Confederate Cemetery; and Whereas: Our Confederate heroes regarded her death as such importance to have buried her with Confederate veterans watching over her from her right, and Masons to her left; and Whereas: The Sons of those men in grey shall forget her not; now Therefore: I, Jack Bridwell, Commander, Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans do hereby Proclaim June 1st, 2013, and each June 1st hereafter, as Little Mary Phagan Day. For more information, please contact Jack Bridwell, Division Commander for the Georgia Sons of Confederate Veterans at 1-866-SCV-in-GA or view information online at http://www.GeorgiaSCV.org. END RELEASE Ray McBerry Enterprises is the public relations firm for the Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

In January 2008, I was contacted by Laura Longsworth, Producer for Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc.  regarding a PBS documentary:  The People vs Leo Frank and Loeterman Productions, Inc. requested an interview.  Although "we had many conversations regarding the documentary. the producer appreciated my time and thoughts especially considering past experiences with the media and the bearing the murder of little Mary Phagan and trial of Leo Frank have on my life," I declined the interview.

However, Bill Kinney [Associate Editor at MDJ] encouraged me to do the interview because he felt it was important to include the living persons who best understand and are credible regarding the events.

February 4, 2008, I received a letter and a draft of topics to cover in the interview from Laura Longsworth, Producer of Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc.  "We look forward to meeting you at the Breman on February 17th for the "Seeking Justice" exhibit. And we really appreciate you considering the possibility of granting us an interview on February 19th.  We are making no assumptions that you will ultimately feel comfortable doing this but very much hope you will. We feel that you, and you alone, can bring to this documentary the authentic voice and perspective of the Phagan family. We would like very much to tell Mary's background and story and if you can help us do this, the film would be that much stronger.  We can commit to having you be the sole voice on your family's background and we can also commit to explaining that Leo Frank's pardon did not absolve him of the murder of Mary Phagan."

List of topics:

Sunday, February 17, 2008: The Breman Museum

Mary Phagan-Kean attends

"Seeking Justice" opened Sunday, February 10, 2008 at the William Heritage Museum in Midtown Atlanta.  It is considered the first exhibition about the complicated story of Mary Phagan's murder, Leo Frank who was convicted of her murder and his lynching. The museum's Archivist Sandra Berman has been collecting artifacts and documents for over 20 years.

This is the first time that the description of Mary Phagan is accurate.  The Phagan Family appreciated being interviewed and providing artifacts/documents for the exhibit.

The interview date for Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc. was scheduled for February 19, 2008 in Sandy Springs at a period house built by the Candler family.

THE PEOPLE V. LEO FRANK

Premiere at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

April 30, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Ben Loeterman's 90- minute documentary about the 1913 murder of Mary Phagan and the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank in Marietta combines archival footage, interviews with scholars and reenactments that were filmed in Georgia 2008.  Steve Oney, author of "And the Dead Shall Rise," served as chief historical consultant for the documentary and stated that "Ben Loeterman lives in Boston, but he went the extra mile to give fair play to the Southern view of the controversial subject."

Georgians who appear in the documentary included former Governor Roy Barnes, Mary Phagan-Kean, great-niece of Little Mary Phagan, state Senator Chuck Clay, Tad Brown, great-grandson of Tom Watson, Dan Cox, director of the Marietta History Museum, deputy Cobb County District Attorney Van Pearlberg, and Bill Kinney, MDJ's associate editor.  The interesting aspect according to Steve Oney is "The People vs. Leo Frank is that Marietta got to tell it's side of the story."

On May 2, 2009, the Marietta Daily Jornal headlines:

Leo Frank film draws Praise

Descendants, Cobb officials remark on tragic time in Marietta's history

PBS televises "The People vs Leo Frank"

November 2, 2009 at 9:00 p.m.

I received calls, emails about the interview.  One of my best friends from high school stated:

"I watched the show.  You did very well.  You were factual and articulate.  It was an interesting show.  It was also interesting to see that the descendants of so many involved were still interested in something that happened almost 100 years ago.  That shows that the community was heartbroken by such a cruel act of the murder of a child.

I also remember my grandmother playing the Victrola record and telling me about it as a child.  She lived in Birmingham, Alabama.  This was heard all over the country and I don't think there was as meanness as there is now.  I think people were shocked by it.

It was great to see you on TV.  You were marvelous."

Margaret Ann* [We had a spend the night party at Margaret's house in high school and she played the record of Little Mary Phagan on the Victrola and later her family gave me the record]

Coming Events:  Joe Kirby Editorial Page editor of the Marietta Daily Journal, April 16, 2006

"'Lunch and Learn' Series at the Marietta Museum of History, the Frank trial will be re-explored by assistant Cobb District Attorney Van Pearlberg, one of the most knowledgeable of the younger generation of local Phagan/Frank, aficionados. The event will take place April 25 starting at 10:30. Tickets are $30 per person, with reservations required." Attending will be Mary Phagan-Kean, great-niece of murder victim, Mary Phagan.

A convicted murderer gets a historical marker.

So why does a convicted murderer get a historical marker?  Leo Frank was found guilty by a jury who heard facts and evidence of the case.  The jury convicted him and recommended the death penalty.  Why is the jury and appeals [13 total and not one appeal felt that Leo Frank was not guilty] all the way to the Supreme Court being discredited?   The jury and the judges were not corrupted or irresponsible in the performance of their duties.

Letter to Georgia Historical Society regarding Historical Marker for Leo Frank Lynching:  October 16, 2006

1050 Rockcrest Drive

Marietta Georgia 30062-3013

Georgia Historical Society

501 Whitaker Street

Savannah, Georgia 31401

October 16, 2006

Dear Ms. Crisp:

In the October 7, 2006 Atlanta Journal and Constitution, I read that the Georgia Historical Society approved a state historical marker for the 1915 lynching of Leo M. Frank in Marietta.  I have great concerns regarding this marker especially since Leo M. Frank is still the convicted murderer of my great aunt, Little Mary Phagan.

My family has no objection to anyone expressing their opinions on this case but we do insist organizations such as the Georgia Historical Society preserve history by making sure that the truth and facts are not distorted by groups that “use this case for their own purposes”.   Unfortunately, different groups have not told the complete facts regarding the posthumous pardon that was issued to Leo M. Frank on March 11, 1986.  The posthumous pardon states:

“In 1983, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considered a request for a Pardon implying innocence but did not find “conclusive evidence proving beyond any doubt that Frank was innocent.”  Such a standard of proof, especially for a 70year-old case, is almost impossible to satisfy.

Without attempting to address the question of quilt or innocence, and in recognition of the State’s failure to protect the person of Leo M. Frank and thereby preserve his opportunity for continued legal appeal of his conviction, and in recognition of the State’s failure to bring his killers to justice, and as an effort to heal old wounds, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, in compliance with its Constitutional and statutory authority, hereby grants to Leo M. Frank a Pardon.”

Leo M. Frank, is and remains, the convicted murderer of Little Mary Phagan.   I am enclosing a copy of the posthumous pardon for your review.

The city of Marietta has a historical marker over the gravesite of Little Mary Phagan.  This marker is not the original marker.  A group was not happy that the original marker included that the pardon for Leo Frank “did not address his guilt or innocence”.  The original marker was taken down and replaced with the current marker that ends with the statement “Leo M. Frank was issued a posthumous pardon in 1986.  This is not an accurate fact and distorts history.

I do hope that you consider all the facts if the pardon is part of the state historical maker. I believe that the issue regarding his guilt or innocence in reference to the posthumous pardon is an important fact and is necessary to maintain historical accuracy and should not be omitted in regards to the posthumous pardon. The fact is that Leo M. Frank is still guilty and is the convicted murderer of Little Mary Phagan.  I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

Should you have further questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me.  I will be out of the country until October 28.

Sincerely,

Mary Phagan-Kean

Mphagank@aol.com

770-977-9490

404-403-8526 Cell

Response from Ms. Crisp:  October 25, 2006

Erected 2008 by The Georgia Historical Society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth. (Marker Number 33-1.) It was removed by the Georgia Department of Transportation when road construction at the site made it unsafe for public viewing. Once construction was complete, GDOT created the current green space as a permanent home for the marker.

Inscription:

Near this location on August 17, 1915, Leo M. Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, was lynched for the murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory employee. A highly controversial trial fueled by societal tensions and anti-Semitism resulted in a guilty verdict in 1913. [This particular claim is central to the belief that anti-Semitism infected Frank’s murder trial and tainted the guilty verdict which didn't happen according to Steve Oney, ADL expert who refuted this claim in 2003.  So why are these organizations [The Georgia Historical Society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth, Historians] continuing to deliberately promote and deceive the public.] After Governor John M. Slaton commuted his sentence from death to life in prison, Frank was kidnapped from the state prison in Milledgeville and taken to Phagan’s hometown of Marietta where he was hanged before a local crowd. Without addressing guilt or innocence, and in recognition of the state’s failure to either protect Frank or bring his killers to justice, he was granted a posthumous pardon in 1986.

Atlanta, August 23, 2018 – The Georgia Historical Society was honored to join the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth for a ceremony rededicating the Leo Frank Lynching historical marker at the intersection of Roswell Road and Highway 401 in Marietta today.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL MARKER PROGRAM
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) administers Georgia’s historical marker program. Over the past 20 years, GHS has erected over 250 new historical markers across the state on a wide variety of subjects. GHS also maintains the more than 2,100 markers installed by the State of Georgia prior to 1998. Online mapping tools allow users to design driving routes based on historical markers, and a mobile app helps visitors locate and learn about markers nearby.Visit georgiahistory.com for more ways to use Georgia’s historical markers and experience history where it happened.