10 Reasons Why Leo Frank’s Trial Shook The Nation...

If you didn’t already know, the Leo Frank Trial was a significant staple in noteworthy court mistrial. Frank was the superintendent of The National Pencil Company, the site where Mary Phagan, a thirteen-year-old employee, was found cold. Leo Frank was framed for the murder and faced a lifetime sentence in jail. After a short lived experience behind bars, he was taken out of jail and lynched, although he had already been claimed innocent whilst in prison.

10. His innocense was made evident

Via georgiaencyclopedia.org

Wrongful convictions happen more than a person might think. You may be wondering what the main cause of this is. It is because of false confessions, something Jim Conley was responsible for since the trail was primarily based off the testimony of Conley. The trial went on for 25 days and finally Frank was found guilty. He tried to appealed his case, but it was no use because he just kept getting denied by the Court. Eventually Frank's Case was brought to the Governor of Georgia, John M. Slaton. It was Slaton who reviewed the facts of the case and came to the conclusion that Frank was innocent…At least someone was able to figure it out, right? After making that discovery, he decided reduce Frank’s sentence to life imprisonment, hoping that with time his innocence would “eventually be fully established and he would be set free” (Dinnerstein). Obviously, things did not work out that way. It is unfortunate that it was not until after his lynching that the truth was pronounced and still, some people are oblivious to the reality.

9. Assumed prejudice because he was a Jew

Via leofrank.org

As if being convicted for a murder wasn’t bad enough, Leo Frank was also seen as an outcast in the Atlanta, Georgia community. After Frank’s heart-rending death, the Jewish-American population became fearful of the cruel treatment bouncing back at them. The unfairness that went unseen throughout Frank’s Trial was truly distressing and definitely shook Frank’s peers. Despite the speculations that, “[people] reported that Frank was innocent and that his trial had been a farce” (“Leo Frank, Guilty or Not Guilty”) the majority of Atlanta’s townspeople continued to show signs of disapproval even after the trial was over, marching in mobs and starting riots. The possibility of the Georgians retaliating on the rest of the Jewish-Americans petrified them so much that it drove them out of Atlanta to reside elsewhere.

8. Nationwide scandal caused false testimonies

Via jewishvirtuallibrary.org

The entire Leo Frank trial was highly publicized which drew a significant amount of attention to the case. With that being said, it would not be any surprise if people spoke up to have their two cents added into the mix. Which is exactly what happened. After the murder of Mary Phagan, some employees of the National Pencil Factory testified that “Frank had made sexual advances toward them” (jewishvirtuallibrary). These testimonies and accusations added fuel to the fire of what was the Leo Frank trial. What the reasons were behind the supposed false testimonies remain unknown, but they did play a role in making the case the nationwide scandal it is now remembered as.

7. He continued to be abused in jail

Via leofrank.org

Although one may find it hard to believe, inmate abuse occurs quite often. Leo Frank was a victim to this abuse when he had this throat slashed while incarcerated at the Georgia State Prison. Many prisoners tend to tolerate inmate abuse because they are not aware of their options. Frank belonged to the Jewish minority and could have filed a lawsuit against the state for gross misconduct within their prison walls. It is the state/cities job to provide safety to inmates who are detained and in their watch. Luckily, two fellow inmates were doctors and managed to save Frank by stitching him up. Nonetheless “Frank lingered between life and death for several weeks,” (Curator) but he was able to survive. This attack demonstrates the absurd neglect for safety in the Georgia State prison inflicted against Leo Frank.

6. He was pulled out of jail illegally

Via businessinsider.com

Following the biased court trial, Jewish-American engineer Leo Frank was sent to jail to serve time. Atlanta residents who knew the of the case and people all over the nation who had become exposed to the hearing were still displeased and demanded he was hung for the crime he was pinned for. In fact, the people were so enraged that a group of men who called themselves, “The Knights of Mary Phagan” decided to end Frank’s life earlier than expected. The group, “dragged from his jail cell [in the middle of the night] and lynched him in Mary’s hometown, [Marietta]” (Jacobs). If you didn’t think that was horrible enough, the locals of Marietta stood around Frank’s body the next morning and just spectated his limp body. How cruel, am I right?

5. The KKK was rekindled after the popularity of the lynching

Via georgiaencyclopedia.org

As you know, the KKK (a.k.a. the Ku Klux Klan) is an inhumane cult that ruthlessly kills people based on their prejudice of primarily on race and religion. Before the publicized Leo Frank Trial, the hate group was idle for a few years until its trigger in 1915: Leo Frank’s widespread lynch in Marietta, Georgia. This atrocious event opened many eyes to the reality of what it’s like to be a misfit in a society and judged for it. The execution of Leo Frank also led to “a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan” (The Jewish Americans, Anti-Semitism In America ,PBS). Jewish-Americans with the knowledge of the brutalities that go on had to learn ways to dodge the KKK to lengthen their survival.

4. The anticipation of finding the real killer

Via nytimes.com

The murder of Mary Phagan is a controversial topic still discussed today. Despite the fact that Frank was found guilty in court, all the evidence pointed to another suspect. After all, even the governor believed he was innocent. But the idea of an unsolved murder probably frightened everyone. If it wasn’t Frank, then who was it?

3. Conley was the first african american whose testimony was taken over a white man’s.

Via leofrank.org

Jim Conley was the factory sweeper at the national pencil factory and one of the only witnesses of the murder of Mary Phagan. He testified in court that Leo Frank told him to write the notes next to Mary as well as helping him get away with the murder. Since he was apparently a first person account of the murder his word had a very heavy sway in the courtroom. His word was big part of the deciding factor that put Leo Frank in jail, Jim had “very little education” and testified that Mr.Frank was controlling him and was “ordering him to do as he said”(Jim Conley).

2. Neither the governor or constitution could spare Frank’s life.

Via businessinsider.com

Franks case was one of surprise since his innocence or wrongdoing could not be pinned on him. They announced him guilty in court and sentenced him to life in prison but the case would be looked at repeatedly and he would most likely have been released once there was found to be not enough evidence to back up the fact that Leo Frank killed Mary Phagan. Unfortunately this was not able to happen since “Leo Frank was taken illegally out of jail and lynched” for his “wrongdoings”(Jacobs, Peter). Nothing could stop the angry mob of people that sought revenge on Mr.Frank, not the guards, not the governor, not even the constitution could protect him from this heinous act.

1. Anyone Could Be Framed For The Leo Frank Murder

Via archive.org

The scariest part about the Leo Frank case is the fact that anyone could be framed for a murder. The main points for argument in the case was that Leo frank was educated and could commit the crime due to his education at Cornell and since he had a "Mechanical engineering degree it showed his skills in planning and strategies"(Leo Frank Case). This applies to many individuals around the world and if they were around the location at the time of the killing of Mary Phagan then they could also be framed for the murder. This case was all about finding a potential scapegoat and if someone were to fit the bill then they could easy be found guilty and put in the same shoes as Leo Frank.