Tragedy in the New South: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank

Sentence, Appeals, Commutation, Lynching

Murder victim, Mary Phagan, Georgia, before 1913

Photograph of Mary Phagan before her murder

Copyright Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Courtesy of Georgia State University. AJCP552-044c, Atlanta Journal Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.

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<h2>Crime and Arrest</h2>
Confederate Memorial Day fell on Saturday, April 26, 1913. The National Pencil Company in Atlanta, Georgia, was closed, but superintendent Leo Frank was in the office working on a financial report and handing out wages. Thirteen-year-old employee Mary Phagan collected her pay around noon; she did not return home.
In the early hours of April 27, African American night watchman Newt Lee discovered Phagan’s body in the factory basement and immediately called the police. Phagan had been strangled and dragged across the floor. Two crudely written notes implicating “a negro” were found nearby. Initial suspicion fell on Lee. When Leo Frank was contacted about the murder, the police noted he was very nervous. But when he was brought in for questioning, Frank denied knowledge of the crime.
The National Pencil Company’s sweeper, an African American man named Jim Conley, was discovered washing a bloody shirt and was also questioned by police. He denied any involvement, claiming he could not read or write. But after intense interrogation, Conley’s story changed. He admitted writing the notes, but claimed that he did so upon orders from Leo Frank. Despite the inconsistencies in Conley’s story (which changed four times), the police and solicitor general Hugh M. Dorsey believed him. Leo Frank was arrested and indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan. Jim Conley was the primary witness.

Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center via Digital Library of Georgia. This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S Code) Permission for use must be cleared through The Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.

View of Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman from Atlanta accused of murder and later lynched. Leo Frank was a manager at a pencil factory in Marietta, Georgia. Frank was convicted on questionable evidence of the rape and murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. Shortly after his death sentence was commuted to life in prison, Frank, who was Jewish, was kidnapped and lynched by a group of men.

Newt Lee, with detective, from Watson's Magazine

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Photo of Newt Lee with detective as seen in Watson's Magazine,Vol. XXI, no. 4, Aug. 1915, p. 191.

Downtown Atlanta, Georgia - National Pencil Factory building visible

Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center via Digital Library of Georgia. Cite as: Wilbur G. Kurtz, Sr. visual arts collection, VIS 197, Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Image of downtown Atlanta, Georgia showing National Pencil Company building, where Mary Phagan's murder occurred

Kurtz, Wilbur G. (Wilbur George), 1882-1967

Crime and Trial

Setting: Atlanta in 1913

Legacy

Courtesy of University of Georgia Libraries via Digital Library of Georgia. This item is in the public domain.

Photograph of Reuben R. Arnold, one of Leo Frank's two lead defense attorneys, in Collier's Weekly, December 26, 1914, page 19.

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Leo Frank’s lawyers challenged Jim Conley’s credibility, demonstrated that Frank did not have time to commit the crime, and collected testimony from multiple character witnesses. This was followed by a four-hour statement from Frank.
Frank’s defense drew attention to Conley’s lies and criminal record. Witnesses testified to Conley’s dubious behavior, particularly on April 26, the day of the murder. By showing detailed account sheets Frank was working on that day, the defense argued Frank was too preoccupied to do what Conley had claimed. Numerous witnesses testified to Frank’s good character, including Alonzo Mann, Frank’s office boy. Mann stated that he worked April 26, but did not hear or see Frank do anything unusual.
Finally, Frank took the stand. He spoke calmly but firmly, asserting Conley’s tale was fabricated, and that detectives distorted his statements to incriminate him. Frank admitted to being nervous after hearing of the murder, noting that any man in his position would be. He stated that Phagan came in for her pay soon after noon, left his office, and he never saw her alive again. He worked on a financial report, and then went home. He never saw Conley that day.
Soon after Frank’s statement, the defense rested.

Photograph of Leo Frank, in Collier's Weekly, December 19, 1914, page 6.

The Frank Case: Inside Story of Georgia's Greatest Murder Mystery

Cover title: The Frank Case: Inside Story of Georgia's Greatest Murder Mystery. Complete History of the Sensational Crime and Trial, Portraits of Principals.

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Tragedy in the New South: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank

Defense

Defense