The case came to trial promptly as the public and the press demanded action without delay, but everything seemed to have been done properly. As to any charges of ethnic and religious bias, the Grand Jury that indicted Leo Frank included four Atlanta Jews. The evidence was overwhelming. Frank was tried, convicted and sentenced to death, but this was not the end. Expensive private investigators funded by the Atlanta Jewish community even came up with another suspect, once again, a Negro, but the allegations went nowhere. As you see, race was indeed a factor. Frank’s supporters hoped that southerners would jump at the chance to blame Negroes for a crime against a white girl, but this tactic didn’t work. Beyond that, he was portrayed as a homosexual pervert who also preyed on young women. Needless to say, this worked against him. Duly convicted, Frank went to prison to await execution. Appeals efforts continued but failed, including with the U.S. Supreme Court. His fate seemed sealed. Or, was it?

Then, in August 1915, events took an ugly turn. While the guilty verdict was upheld, outgoing governor John Slaton -- who was also a law firm partner of Frank's attorney -- shocked the Georgia public by commuting the death sentence to life in prison! The people were outraged, taking to the streets. A group calling themselves the Knights of Mary Phagan, led by some prominent citizens, marched on the prison. With the complicity of the guards, the well-organized mob seized Leo Frank and later hung him.

A separate mob attacked the governor’s mansion, but was turned back by the National Guard. Some say over 3,000 Jews left Atlanta after this. In terms of just one example of the importance of this case in the affairs of the day, the lynching, widely covered in the press, contributed to the rise and rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, already a work in progress through the efforts of Georgia publisher and politician, Tom Watson. He wrote about the matters in various newspapers, and may have had a hand in planning the lynching. Whatever the case, Watson’s influence was enhanced by his connection with the case, and the growth of the Klan continued, boosted by all the worldwide publicity.

“NEW EVIDENCE”? AFTER 69 YEARS?

In 1985, Alonzo Mann, who was a young clerk in the pencil factory office, came forward with an affidavit saying he saw Jim Conley, the janitor, moving Mary’s body. Mann claims he kept silent in fear of death threats from Conley and promises made to his family.

“Johnson City, Tenn., March 19, 1985. Alonzo Mann, who broke a 69- year silence to say the wrong man was convicted of a notorious killing and hanged by a lynch mob that led to a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, died Monday from pneumonia at the age of 87. Three years ago Mr. Mann, a resident of Bristol, Va., after keeping silent since 1913, said in a sworn statement that Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil merchant, was innocent of the murder of 14-year-old Mary Phagan at an Atlanta pencil factory. He said the real killer was Jim Conley, a janitor at the factory. In 1983, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles disregarded Mr. Mann's sworn affidavit and pleas by three Jewish organizations and declined to pardon Mr. Frank, saying it was impossible to determine the truth after 70 years.” NY Times, 03.20.85.

Let’s speculate a bit. What if Jim Conley was not the killer, but functioned as an accomplice who did things like moving the corpse? Of course, he would have known who the killer was. So if we follow this scenario, death threats demanding silence would not have come from the Negro accomplice, but from those supporting the cause of the killer. If we speculate just a bit more, we might assume the silence was not so much in response to threats, but that money could have been given to Mann and his family over the years to insure their silence and cooperation, perhaps including the affidavit shortly before his death.

A SHAMEFUL CONCLUSION.

In 1986, after failing to do so in 1983, and under heavy outside pressure, the State of Georgia pardoned Leo Frank. The decision was essentially based on the premise that the State of Georgia failed to adequately protect Leo Frank, which was true. But as we already know, this had little to do with his actual guilt or innocence in the case. The State recognized this and the pardon had a key proviso no one could fail to notice. It was granted “…without attempting to address the question of guilt or innocence”. The pardon was followed by a four hour TV “docu-drama” starring Jack Lemmon with a very predictable and politically correct storyline.