Clear & Convincing - Episode 1 - State of Georgia v. Leo M. Frank

During the early morning hours of April 27, 1913, the body of 13-year old factory worker Mary Phagan was found in the basement of the National Pencil Company on Forsyth Street in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.  The factory superintendent, Leo Max Frank, was arrested, indicted and went on trial in late July, 1913.  The most damning evidence against Frank were statements made by Jim Conley, a janitor at National Pencil Company alleging Frank’s inappropriate treatment of the girls who worked in the factory and immoral behavior with others while Conley ensured Frank had privacy.  The intense media attention in Atlanta market stoked public Anti-Semitism that bled into Frank’s trial and seemingly guaranteed that he would be found guilty and sentenced to death.  After unsuccessfully challenging his trial, conviction and sentence, Frank sought clemency which was granted in June of 1915 by outgoing Governor John M. Slaton.  In response, a lynch mob formed, calling themselves the Knights of Mary Phagan.  On August 16, 1915, Frank was forcibly taken from the prison farm in Milledgeville where he was serving a life sentence and, in the early morning hours of August 17, 1915, he was hanged from a tree near Mary Phagan’s family home in Marietta.  We’ll talk about the facts of the murder of Mary Phagan, the allegations against Frank, his controversial trial and efforts to exonerate him.  We’re a live show and calls are welcome.  Our phone number is (347) 989-1171.