Frank pardon effort blocked; legacy media bias evident, 1982–1984
The trial testimony, along with all exhibits presented by both the defense and prosecution, was thoroughly reviewed by the Supreme Court of Georgia and later by the United States Supreme Court, with rulings issued in 1914 and 1915. Both courts found no procedural or technical errors in the proceedings. In its final judgment, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded that the evidence introduced at Leo Frank’s trial fully supported his conviction. The later testimony of Alonzo Mann did not introduce any substantial new evidence capable of overturning Frank’s guilt. Jim Conley had already admitted to moving the body using the elevator, whereas Mann’s account merely altered the method—claiming the body was carried via the stairs—without changing the essential facts of the crime that occurred on Frank’s office floor.
Jim Conley, an African American man, was tried in a racially segregated 1913 Atlanta, where prejudice against …More
Comprehensive Affidavit by Alonzo Mann, Drafted November 10, 1982 in Atlanta
Alonzo Mann, who worked as a teenage office boy at the National Pencil Company in 1913, later gave an extensive account in 1982 that supported efforts to clear Leo Frank of Mary Phagan’s murder. Mann said he spent his days in the front office alongside Frank, knew him as a strictly businesslike and respectable manager, and never saw him behave improperly with women at the factory.
Mann described Memorial Day 1913 as a half day at the office. He arrived around 8 in the morning, passed Jim Conley sitting under the stairway asking to borrow ten cents, and refused because Conley often drank and never repaid loans. Near midday Mann left briefly to meet his mother downtown, failed to find her, and walked back to the plant roughly thirty minutes later.
When Mann reentered the building he turned toward the stairwell and, on the first floor near the elevator and the basement trapdoor, saw Conley holding the limp body …More
Alonzo Mann’s March 4, 1982 Legal Statement from Sullivan County
Alonzo McClendon Mann was 83 when he swore this statement on March 4, 1982, in Sullivan County, Tennessee. Born August 8, 1898, near Memphis, he moved to Atlanta as a boy. In 1913, at age 14, he worked as office boy for Leo M. Frank at the National Pencil Company. That year Frank was convicted of murdering 14-year-old Mary Phagan on April 26, Confederate Memorial Day. Mann testified at trial but hid key facts out of fear. He now claims this silence doomed Frank, who was later lynched.
Janitor Jim Conley, the prosecution's star witness, lied under oath, Mann asserts. Conley alone killed Phagan and moved her body. That morning Mann found Conley drunk under the stairwell, begging for beer money. Mann refused and went upstairs. Around noon he left to meet his mother for the parade. Phagan had not arrived. On returning shortly after, Mann saw Conley near the basement trapdoor cradling Phagan's limp body. Her hair hung loose …More
The Testimony of Alonzo Mann in the Leo Frank Trial, August 1913, Atlanta, Georgia
Alonzo Mann – Testimony for the Defense
I work as an office boy at the National Pencil Company. I started on April 1, 1913. My duties mostly involve sitting in the outer office or hallway. On April 26th, 1913, I left the factory at about
11:30
a.m. At that time, Miss Hall, a stenographer from Montag’s, was in the office with Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank asked me to call Mr. Schiff and tell him to come in. I called, but a girl answered and said Mr. Schiff hadn’t gotten up yet. I only called once.
In the two Saturdays before the murder, I worked at the factory until around
3:30
or
4:00
p.m., and Mr. Frank was always working during those times. I never saw him bring women into the factory or drink with anyone there. I’ve never seen a man named Dalton in the building. On April 26th, I saw Holloway, Irby, McCrary, and Darley, but not Quinn. I don’t recall seeing Corinthia Hall, Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. White, Graham, …More
Alonzo Mann Deposition to Harry Scott, Pinkerton Detective, May 1913, Atlanta, Georgia
My name is Alonzo McClendon Mann. I am 83 years old, born near Memphis, Tennessee, on August 8, 1898, later raised in Atlanta. In 1913, at age fourteen, I was office boy for Leo M. Frank at the National Pencil Company when Mary Phagan, a girl my age, was murdered and Frank was convicted. I testified at his trial but did not reveal everything I knew, because I was not asked and I was frightened. I now state that Leo Frank did not kill Mary Phagan; Jim Conley, the janitor and main witness against Frank, lied under oath and was the real killer.
On Confederate Memorial Day, 1913, I arrived at the factory about 8 a.m. and saw Conley drunk under the stairwell asking me for money. I left shortly before noon to meet my mother, saw Conley still there, then returned in less than half an hour. When I came back in the front door, I saw Conley near the trapdoor to the basement holding a small girl’s limp body in …More
The Testimony of Alonzo Mann at Leo Frank’s 1913 Trial in Atlanta, Georgia
I was only a boy then, working as an office assistant at the National Pencil Company. I’d started on April 1, 1913, handling small errands for the staff and for Mr. Leo Frank, the superintendent. Most days, I stayed in the outer office or hallway, carrying notes and running messages. I remember April 26 vividly—it was Confederate Memorial Day, and the factory was quieter than usual.
That morning, I left the building around 11:30 a.m. Before going, I saw Miss Hall, the stenographer from Montag’s, talking with Mr. Frank. He asked me to telephone Mr. Schiff, but when I called, a woman answered and said he was still asleep. Nothing about that seemed unusual to me at the time.
From what I’d seen in my short weeks there, Mr. Frank often worked through Saturday afternoons, sometimes staying late after the rest of us had gone. I never once saw him behave improperly, drink, or bring women into the factory. That day, he …More
Alonzo Mann’s Testimony in the 1913 Leo Frank Trial
Alonzo Mann’s Testimony at the Leo Frank Trial
August 1913, Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta, Georgia
In August 1913, Alonzo Mann testified for the defense at the trial of Leo Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Company, who was charged with the April 26, 1913, murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan. The case, tried before Judge Leonard S. Roan in Fulton County Superior Court, became one of Georgia’s most publicized trials of the early twentieth century.
The proceedings lasted several weeks, with dozens of witnesses called by both sides. Mann’s brief testimony contributed to the defense’s effort to portray Frank’s normal work habits and demeanor on the day of the crime. He stated that he began working at the factory on April 1, 1913, often serving in the outer office or hallway. On April 26, he left the building around
11:30
a.m., noting that Miss Hall, a stenographer from Montag’s, was in the office with Mr. Frank.…More
Alonzo Mann’s Account at the Leo Frank Trial, Atlanta, 1913
Alonzo Mann’s Account at the Leo Frank Trial
Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta, August 1913
During the summer of 1913, Alonzo Mann appeared as a defense witness in the highly publicized trial of Leo Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Company, who was accused of murdering young factory worker Mary Phagan on April 26, 1913. The case, tried before Judge Leonard S. Roan, drew national attention and dominated Atlanta’s newspapers for months.
Mann, employed as an office boy at the factory since April 1, 1913, described his ordinary work routine and his observations from the morning of the crime. He stated that he left the building around 11:30 a.m. while Mr. Frank was in his office with Miss Hall, a visiting stenographer. According to Mann, Frank asked him to telephone Mr. Schiff, but a woman answered, explaining that Schiff had not yet arisen. Mann emphasized that Frank often worked diligently on Saturdays and that …More
The Testimony of Alonzo Mann in the Leo Frank Trial, August 1913, Atlanta, Georgia
Alonzo Mann – Testimony for the Defense
I work as an office boy at the National Pencil Company. I started on April 1, 1913. My duties mostly involve sitting in the outer office or hallway. On April 26th, 1913, I left the factory at about 11:30 a.m. At that time, Miss Hall, a stenographer from Montag’s, was in the office with Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank asked me to call Mr. Schiff and tell him to come in. I called, but a girl answered and said Mr. Schiff hadn’t gotten up yet. I only called once.
In the two Saturdays before the murder, I worked at the factory until around 3:30 or 4:00 p.m., and Mr. Frank was always working during those times. I never saw him bring women into the factory or drink with anyone there. I’ve never seen a man named Dalton in the building. On April 26th, I saw Holloway, Irby, McCrary, and Darley, but not Quinn. I don’t recall seeing Corinthia Hall, Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. White, Graham,…More
NEWT LEE COLORED, Sworn In For The State, 3rd To Testify
NEWT LEE. (colored), sworn for the State.
On the 26th day of April 1913, I was night watchman at the national Pencil Factory. I had been night watchman there for about three weeks. When I began working there, Mr. Frank carried me around and showed me everything that I would have to do. I would have to get there at six o'clock on week days, and on Saturday evenings I have to come at five o'clock. On Friday the 25th of April, 1913 he told me "Tomorrow is a holiday and I want you to come back at four o'clock." "I want to get off a little earlier than I have been getting off." I got to the factory on Saturday about three or four minutes before four. The front door was not locked. I pushed it open, went on in and got to the double door there. I was paid off Friday night at six o'clock. It was put out that everybody would be paid off then. Every Saturday when I get off he gives me the keys at twelve o'clock, so that if he happened to be …More
MRS J W COLEMAN, Sworn In For The State, 1st To Testify
MRS. J.W. COLEMAN, Sworn for the State.
I am Mary Phagan's mother. I last saw her alive on the 26th day of April 1913, about a quarter to twelve, at home, at 146 Lindsey Street. She was getting ready to go to the pencil factory to get her pay envelope. About 11:30, she ate some cabbage and bread. She left home at a quarter to twelve. She would have been fourteen years old the first day of June, was fair complected, heavy set, very pretty, and was extra large for her age. She had on a lavender dress, trimmed in lace and a blue hat. She had dimples in her cheeks.
CROSS EXAMINATION
The blue hat that is seen here is the hat the little girl had on that day. It had some pale blue ribbon and some flowers when she left home. It was a small bunch of little pink flowers right in the center. We live two blocks from the street car line. There is a store there at the place she usually get on the car kept by Mrs. Smith. Epps is a neighbor of ours …More
GEORGE EPPS, Sworn In For The State, 2nd To Testify
GEORGE EPPS, Sworn for the State.
I am fourteen years old. I live right around the corner from Mary Phagan's home. I have known her about a year. The last time I saw her was Saturday morning coming to town on the English Avenue car. It was about ten minutes to twelve when I first saw her. I left her about seven minutes after twelve at the corner of Forsyth and Marietta Street. She had on that hat, parasol and things when I left her. She was going to the pencil factory to draw her money. She said she was going to see the parade at Elkin-Watson's at two o'clock. She never showed up. I stayed around there until four o'clock and then I went to ball game. When I left her at the corner of Forsyth and Marietta, I went under the bridge to get papers and she went over the bridge to the pencil factory, about two blocks down Forsyth Street. I sat with Mary on the car.
CROSS EXAMINATION.
I know what time it was when I met Mary because I looked at …More
Introduction to the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, July 28th, 1913 to August 21st, 1913, in the Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, 1913
STATE OF GEORGIA VERSUS LEO M. FRANK
In Fulton Superior Court, trial began July 28th and ended August 21st, 1913.
Judge Leonard Strickland Roan, presiding.
Conviction of murder at July term on August 25th, 1913 in Fulton Superior Court, Atlanta, Georgia.
BRIEF OF THE EVIDENCE
L S DOBBS, Sworn In For The State, 4th To Testify
L. S. DOBBS, Sworn for the State.
I am Sergeant of police. On the morning of April 27th, about 3:25 a call came from the pencil factory that there was a murder up there. We went down in Boots Rogers' automobile. When we got there the door was locked. We knocked on the door and in about two minutes the negro came down the steps and opened the door and said there was a woman murdered in the basement. We went through a scuttle hole, a small trapdoor. The negro lead the way back in the basement, to a partition on the left, leading from the elevator. The basement is about twenty feet wide. The negro lead back about one hundred feet and we found the body. "The girl was laying on her face not directly laying on her stomach with the left side on the ground, the right side up just a little. We couldn't tell by looking at her whether she was white or black, only by her golden colored hair. They turned her over and her face was full of dirt and dust …More
J N STARNES, Sworn In For The State, 5th To Testify
J. N. STARNES, Sworn for the State.
I am a city officer. Went to the pencil Company's place of business between five and six o'clock, April 27th 1913. The pencil company is located in Fulton County, Georgia, and that's where the body was found. The staple to the back door looked as if it had been prized out with a pipe pressed against the wood. There was a pipe there that fitted the indentation on the wood. I called Mr. Frank on the telephone, and told him I wanted him to come to the pencil factory right away. He said he hadn't had any breakfast. He asked where the night watchman was. I told him it was very necessary for him to come and if he would come I would send an automobile for him, and I asked Boots Roger to for him. I didn't tell him what had happened, and he didn't ask me. Mr. Frank appeared to be nervous. This was indicated by his manner of speaking to Mr. Darley, he was in a trembling situation. I was guarded with him in my …More
W W ROGERS, Sworn In For The State, 6th To Testify
W. W. ROGERS, sworn for the State.
I am now connected with Judge Girardeau's court. I was at the station house Saturday night, April 26th, 1913 and went to the National Pencil Company's place of business. It was between five and five thirty that I heard Mr. Starnes have a conversation over the phone. I heard him say, "If you come I will send an automobile after you." It took us five or six minutes to get out to Mr. Frank's residence at 86 E. Georgia Avenue. Mr. Black was with me. Mrs. Frank opened the door. She wore a heavy bath robe. Mr. Black asked if Mr. Frank was in. Mr. Frank stepped into the hall through the curtain. He was dressed for the street with the exception of his collar, tie, coat and hat. He had on no vest. Mr. Frank asked Mr. Black if anything had happened at the factory. Mr. Black didn't answer. He asked me had anything happened at the factory. I didn't answer. Mr. Frank said, "Did the night watchman call up and report …More
MISS GRACE HICKS, Sworn In For The State, 7th To Testify
MISS GRACE HICKS, sworn for the State.
I knew Mary Phagan nearly a year at the pencil factory. She worked on the second floor. I identified her body at the undertaker's Sunday morning, April 27th. I knew her by her hair. She was fair skinned, had light hair, blue eyes and was heavy built, well developed for her age. I worked in the metal room, the same room she worked in. Mary's machine was right next to the dressing room, the first machine there. They had a separate closet for men and a separate one for ladies on that floor. There was just a partition between them. In going to the office from the closets they would pass the dressing room and Mary's machine within two or three feet. Mr. Frank, during the past twelve months, would pass through the metal department looking around every day. Sometimes I would see him talking to some of the men in the office at the clocks. He came back to the metal room to see how the work was getting …More
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JOHN R BLACK, Sworn In For The State, 8th To Testify
JOHN R. BLACK, sworn for the State.
I am a city policeman. I don't know the details of the conversation between Mr. Starnes and Mr. Frank over the 'phone. I didn't pay very much attention to it. I went over to Mr. Frank's house with Boots Rogers. Mrs. Frank came to the door. Mrs. Frank had on a bath robe. I stated that I would like to see Mr. Frank and about that time Mr. Frank stepped out from behind a curtain. His voice was hoarse and trembling and nervous and excited. He looked to me like he was pale. I had met Mr. Frank on two different occasions before. On this occasion he seemed to be nervous in handling his collar. He could not get his tie tied, and talked very rapid in asking questions in regard to what had happened. He wanted to know if he would have time to get something to eat, to get some breakfast. He wanted to know if something had happened at the pencil factory and if the night watchman had reported it, and he asked this …More
JAMES MILTON GANTT, Sworn In For The State, 9th To Testify
JAMES MILTON GANTT, sworn for the State.
From June last until the first of January I was shipping clerk at the National Pencil Company. I was discharged April 7th by Mr. Frank for alleged shortage in the pay roll. I have known Mary Phagan when she was a little girl. Mr. Frank knew her, too. One Saturday afternoon she came in the office to have her time corrected, and after I had gotten through Mr. Frank came in and said, "You seem to know Mary pretty well," No, I had not told him her name. I used to know Mary when she was a little girl, but I have not seen her up to the time I went to work for the factory. My work was in the office and she worked in the rear of the building on the same floor in the tip department. After I was discharged, I went back to the factory on two occasions. Mr. Frank saw me both times. He made no objection to my going there. One girl used to get pay envelopes for another girl with Mr. Frank's knowledge.…More
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MRS J A WHITE, Sworn In For The State, 10th To Testify
MRS. J. A. WHITE, sworn for the State.
I saw my husband at the pencil factory at 11:30. I stayed there until about 10 minutes to 12. I left him there and came back about 12:30 and left again about 1 o'clock. When I got there at 11:30 I saw Miss Hall, the stenographer, Mr. Frank and two men. I asked Mr. Frank if I could see my husband Mr. White. Mr. Frank was in the outside office then. He said I could see him and sent word by Mrs. Emma Freeman for him to come downstairs. My husband came to the foot of the stairs on the second floor. I talked to him about 15 minutes and went on out. I returned about 12:30. Mr. Frank was in the outside office standing in front of the safe. I asked him if Mr. White had gone back to work. He jumped like I surprised him and turned and said, "Yes." It wasn't much of a jump. I went upstairs then to see Mr. White. Harry Denham was with him working on the fourth floor. They were hammering. It was not a …More