Tag Archives: Leo Frank Trial

Frank Jury

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Atlanta Georgian
July 28th, 1913

Here is the Frank jury complete:

A. H. Henslee, 74 Oak street; salesman.

F. V. L. Smith, 481 Cherokee avenue, manufacturer’s agent.

J. F. Higdon, 108 Ormewood avenue.

F. E. Winburn, 213 Lucile avenue, claim agent.

A. L. Wisbey, 31 Hood street, cashier of the Buckeye Oil Company.

W. M. Jeffries, a real estate man, with offices at 318 Empire building.

Marcellus Johemming, 161 James street, a machine shop foreman with offices at 281 Marietta street.

M. L. Woodward, cashier King Hardware Company, 182 Park avenue.

J. T. Osburn, an optician for A. K. Hawkes, was chosen from the fifth panel to be the ninth juror.

D. Townsend, 84 Whitehall Terrace, cashier Central Bank and Trust Corporation, tenth juror.

W. S. Medcalf, 136 Kirkwood avenue, circulation man.

C. J. Bosshardt, pressman, employed by Foote & Davies, 216 Bryan street.

Mary Phagan’s Mother Testifies

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian
July 28th, 1913

Newt Lee Repeats His Story in Court Room

Negro Watchman Swears Frank Acted Oddly Day of Crime

Here are the important developments in the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan.

Jury chosen at 1:30 p. m.

Mrs. Coleman, girl’s mother, takes stand after recess, at 3:15, and tells of Mary leaving for the factory 11:45 a. m. on April 26.

George W. Epps, boy companion of Mary Phagan, repeats his story that he had an engagement to meet her on the afternoon of the fatal day.

Newt Lee, night watchman at the factory, begins his story of the finding of the body and subsequent developments.

Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of murdered Mary Phagan, was the first witness for the prosecution at the trial of Leo Frank Monday afternoon. After answering several questions she broke down completely when the solicitor exhibited the little lavender skirt worn by her daughter when she last saw her alive. She covered her face with a fan and for several minutes could not answer a question.

The first question asked her was:

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Frank, Feeling Tiptop, Smiling and Confident, is Up Long Before Trial

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian
July 28th, 1913

Frank was escorted from the Tower to the courthouse shortly after 6 o’clock in the morning, nearly three hours before the trial was schedule to begin. This was done to avoid the curious crowd which it was expected would be about the courthouse and thronging the corridors at 9 o’clock.

Frank was up and dressed and freshly shaven when Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner appeared before his cell at the early hour.

“How are you feeling this morning Mr. Frank?” the deputy inquired.

“Tip top, only, I’m mighty hungry,” replied Frank.

Exhibiting the same poised confidence that has characterized him through three months since he was locked in a cell in the county jail, the young factory superintendent chatted freely with Miner on the way to the courthouse.

Sure He Will Be Freed.

He was attired in a natty light gray mohair suit and wore a fancy gray tie. His face was fuller and he appeared slightly heavier than when he was arrested shortly after the murder of the Phagan girl. He seemed cheerful and in the best of health.

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Jury Complete to Try Frank

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian
July 28th, 1913

Wife Helps Prisoner Pick Men to Try Him

All in Readiness for Real Trial to Begin After Short Recess

Events on the opening day of the trial of Leo M. Frank, accused of the slaying of Mary Phagan in the National Pencil Factory, moved with such unexpected swiftness that it was apparent that the trial proper would be under way and the first witnesses called before the close of the first day’s session. The jury had been completed by the time recess was taken at 1:30.

After a few preliminary clashes between the opposing attorneys which presaged a bitter struggle when the fight for Frank’s life actually was begun, the court settled down to the selection of the jury. The whole morning session up to the recess was occupied with the examination of veniremen.

All the force of attorneys at the table for the defense watched with keen eyes every man examined and frequently referred to a voluminous r[e]cord containing the names of all the veniremen and detailed statements of their history and associations so far as these might have a bearing on their desirability as jurors to pass on Leo Frank’s guilt or innocence.

The keenest interest was manifested by those in the crowded little courtroom as the strategies of the brilliant lawyers were revealed during the examination.

State Had Veniremen’s Records.

The thoroughness with which the Solicitor and his assistants had canvassed the history of every venireman and had investigated whether or not he had ever expressed an opinion on the guilt or innocence of the accused was demonstrated when W. W. Hemmett, a salesman for the Kingsbury Shoe Company, was being examined as to his qualifications.

“Have you ever said you thought Frank was guilty?” Mr. Dorsey inquired.

“No, I never have,” replied Hemmett.

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All in Readiness for Frank’s Trial Monday Morning

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Constitution
July 27th, 1913

Greatest Legal Battle in the History of Dixie Is the Prediction of Atlanta Attorneys

ATTORNEYS FOR STATE HOLD FINAL CONFERENCE

Representatives of Leo Frank Still Non-Committal About Report That Postponement May Be Asked

Practically every detail for the trial of Leo M. Frank has now been completed and with the state declaring its readiness and determination to go to trial and the defense maintaining its same silence in regard to the much mooted matter of postponement every thing awaits the calling of the case at 9 o’clock Monday morning in the criminal branch of superior court before Judge L. S. Roan.

In far more than one was the trial of the young factory superintendent for the murder on April 26 of Mary Phagan an employee, is expected to exceed any criminal trial in the south.

Extensive preparations have been made by both the state and the defense since Frank was bound over by the coroner’s jury on May 8 and since then the lines of the two armies which will fight the legal battle to determine his fate have been gradually thrown out and maneuvering has been going on for advantageous points.

Greatest Legal Battle.

When the clash actually comes in the court room Atlanta attorneys freely predict that the greatest legal battle of southern history will be seen.

Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey held a final conference Saturday afternoon with those who have been aiding him. Assistant Solicitor E. A. Stephens and Attorney Frank A. Hooper who will aid in the legal fight, were present, and also Detectives Pat Campbell and John N. Starnes who have been practically attached to the solicitors office during the preparation.

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Plennie Minor Faces Task in Handling Court Room During Trial of Leo Frank

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal
July 27th, 1913

Genial Deputy Sheriff Will Have Seats for Only 250 People, and Hates to Think He Won’t Be Able to Accommodate Everybody, for That’s His Disposition

Plennie Minor is going to have the hardest job in Fulton county during the next two weeks.

Plennie (he doesn’t allow people to call him Mr. Minor, for he is everybody’s friend) is a Fulton county deputy sheriff and has the arduous task of keeping order in the court room while the Frank case is in progress. Incidentally, he will have to look out for witnesses and prisoners, and generally be the handy man about the trial.

Probably the worst job coming to him will be to keep the crowds out.

There are seats in the court room for 250 people and after they are filled everybody will be barred.

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State Will Build Case Against Frank Around Conley’s Story; Defense Will Undertake to Show that Negro Alone is Guilty

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal
July 27th, 1913

Defense Will Ridicule Conley’s Story and Endeavor to Show That It Was Made to Save His Own Neck

MANY WITNESSES CALLED TO CORROBORATE FRANK

Though Attorneys Are Silent, The Journal Presents Below Outline of What the Defense Is Expected to Be

Complete innocence on the part of Leo M. Frank, the young superintendent of the National Pencil factory, and absolute guilt on the part of James Conley, the negro sweeper at the factory, are the two cardinal points upon which Frank’s defense will be based when he is called to trial for the murder of Mary Phagan, the little girl, whose body was found in the pencil factory basement on Sunday morning, April 27.

Frank’s attorneys, Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, two of the south’s ablest lawyers, have carefully concealed the plans of the defense, but enough has come to light to conclusively indicate that they not only expect to convince the jury that Frank is innocent and that it would have been a physical impossibility for him to have committed the murder without detection, but that Conley, the negro, did have such an opportunity and that robbery was his motive for killing the girl.

The defense evidently holds to the idea that to satisfactorily establish Frank’s innocence and bring about his exoneration it is necessary to clear up the murder mystery. This it will attempt to do by convincing evidence as to the guilt of the negro.

Ever since Conley made his last famous affidavit of confession in which he swore that at Frank’s instance he helped to carry the dead girl into the basement and wrote the notes found by her body Frank’s attorneys have worked on the theory that singlehanded Conley murdered Mary Phagan and that he sought to implicate their client as the principal in order to save his own neck.

The alleged inconsistencies in Conley’s confession will be stressed and its alleged improbabilities will be dissected before the jury. A piece of Mary Phagan’s pay envelope and a bloody club, said to have been found in the dark recess near the factory stairs, where Conley admits he was in hiding on the morning of the murder, will be produced as corroborative evidence, as will an affidavit from W. H. Mincey, an insurance agent, who swears that on the afternoon of the murder Conley, stupefied with drink, told him that he had killed a girl.

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Leo M. Frank Will Go to Trial Monday, It Is Now Believed

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal
July 27th, 1913

Indications Were Saturday Night That the Trial Would Begin Before Judge Roan at Hour Scheduled

BOTH SIDES READY AND BITTER FIGHT IS CERTAIN

Many Well Known Citizens In Venire From Whom the Twelve Jurors Will Be Chosen for Trial

If both sides answer ready when the clerk “sounds” the case of the “State of Georgia versus Leo M. Frank” in the criminal division of the superior court at 9 o’clock Monday morning, what is expected to be the most brilliant as well as one of the most bitter legal fights in the criminal history of the state will have commenced.

The stage has been set for the trial, and on the eve of the battle there was no intimation from any one in authority that the trial would not actually be commenced. For weeks the state and defense have been preparing for the struggle, which is to come Monday, and only an extraordinary motion from the defense, which is not now expected, will delay the trial.

Leo M. Frank, Cornell graduate and man of education and refinement, is charged with the murder of Mary Phagan, a fourteen-year-old factory girl, whose lifeless body was found in the basement of the National Pencil factory, of which he is superintendent, on April 27 by a negro night watchman.

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Venire Whipped Into Shape Rapidly; Negro Is Eligible

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

Within a minute or two after Deputy Sheriff Plennie Minor had called the court to order the examination process was applied to the venire panel of 144 men. From each panel of twelve one or more men were excused after being asked the formal questions and furnished a sufficient reason to bar them.

J. H. Jones, Deputy Clerk, called the names. F. W. Stone, No. 82 East Linden street, was excused on account of illness. R. F. Shedden was refused on an excuse of military exemption. Only one man was excused from the first twelve men.

H. R. Calloway, of No. 691 Piedmont avenue, first of the second panel, was not served. F. A. Hull, No. 180 Grant street, was excused on account of his age, 20 years. T. J. Henderson, No. 25 Woodson street, was excused as opposed to capital punishment. J. A. McCreary, No. 78 East North street, was excused because of his residence in Dekalb County, J. F. Patterson, of College Park, was excused on account of deafness. Five were excused from the second panel.

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Frank Watches Closely as the Men Who are to Decide Fate are Picked

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

This newspaper article is a continuation from the first page of an Atlanta Georgian newspaper. The first page is missing from our archives. If any readers know where to obtain the first part of this article, we would appreciate any help! Thank you!

[…] Mary Phagan by strangulation. This was followed by the request of the defense that the State’s witnesses be called, sworn and put under the rule.

The prosecution opened by announcing its readiness to go on with the trial and called the list of witnesses. Bailiffs brought them down from the second floor. In regular order called, their names were: Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan; J. W. Coleman, the girl’s stepfather; George Epps, newsboy; L. S. Dobbs, policeman; W. W. Rogers, bailiff for constable; L. S. Starnes, detective and also prosecutor on the indictment; Pat Campbell, detective; Grace Hicks, girl who identified Mary Phagan’s body; J. M. Gantt, once held for inquiry, now supposed, to be a star witness for the prosecution; Harry Scott, the Pinkerton detective; R. P. Barrett, pencil factory employee; B. P. Haslett, policeman; M. [sic] V. Darley, factory employee; W. A. Gheesling, undertaker that cared for the girl’s body; Dr. Claude Smith, City Bacteriologist; Dr. H. F. Harris, member of the State Board of Health; Dr. J. W. Hurt, Coroner’s physician; E. L. Parry, court stenographer; E. S. Smith, Monteen Stover, girl employee at pencil factory; Minola McKnight, cook at Frank’s home; Albert McKnight, Minola’s husband (McKnight did not appear in court); Helen Ferguson, Mrs. Arthur White, wife of factory employee, and L. Stanford.

Agree on Conley Affidavits.

Attorney Reuben Arnold asked concerning the duces tecum that he had served on the State’s attorneys for the affidavits of Jim Conley and others. On the promise of Solicitor Dorsey that he would produce the affidavits whenever needed the duces tecum was waived.

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Work of Choosing Jury for Trial of Frank Difficult

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

Veniremen Searchingly Examined by Both State and Defense

Slightest Objection Used to Disqualify—Attorneys Shrewdly Gauge Candidates from Every Angle.

In the selection of the twelve men to comprise the jury which will try Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan, one of the bitterest contests of the great legal battle which begins Monday is anticipated.

That counsel for both the defense and State will probe deep into the character of each of the men drawn from the venire of 144 who take the stand for examination for jury service in this case is certain. The attorneys will endeavor to unearth in the character of the prospective juryman such traits as they may believe favorable or unfavorable to their case.

The slightest objection will be used to disqualify the man from becoming a member of the deciding tribunal. Under the cross-examination of such skilled lawyers as those who will appear in the Phagan case no iota of information which will tend to sway the verdict will remain concealed to to be carried into the jury box and fight against the delivery of justice.

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Trial to Surpass in Interest Any in Fulton County History

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

No murder trial in Fulton County ever has approached the spectacular interest which is in prospect in the Frank case from the first, sharp skirmish between the opposing attorneys, through the long, bitter legal battle, and to the final pleas of the prosecution and the defense.

The presence of Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold in the brilliant array of legal talent at once made certain that the trial would be out of the ordinary. Neither has the reputation of making a half-hearted fight when there is anything at stake. This time it is a man’s life that is depending upon their legal ability, their shrewdness and their eloquence.

Both have a disconcerting habit of carrying the fight to their opponents. In ring parlance, they do not give their courtroom rivals a chance to “get set.” This is going to keep the spectators constantly on the edge of expectation, and will furnish a series of exciting incidents that will give the Frank trial a place by itself in the criminal annals of Georgia.

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Public Demands Frank Trial To-morrow

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

Old Police Reporter Sees No Cause for Delay

Either Side Asking Postponement Will Reveal Weakness, as Time Has Been Given for Preparation. Conley Is Center of Interest.

Defense Must Break Story of Negro or Face Difficult Situation. State Will Base Case on Chain of Circumstantial Evidence.

By AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.

The defense in the case of Leo Frank would have made a mistake, if current street comment counts for anything, had it decided to move for a continuance of the case to-morrow.

Indeed, the fact that the defense even was suspected of an intent to move for a continuance—righteously or otherwise—has not had a happy effect upon the public, even if it has not, on the other hand, served particularly to prejudice the case.

The people want the Frank case tried. I think there is no mistake about that.

And when it was rumored that it might be postponed, with the consent of the defense, even if not of its own motion, more than one person in Atlanta, even those inclined to be friendly to Frank, began, more or less impatiently, to ask themselves, WHY?

If the State is sure of itself, why delay? If the defense is sure of itself, why delay?

If either is not sure of itself, why, then, it must be because the one not sure of itself has a weak case. Thus reasons the public.

Leo Frank is guilty or he is not guilty.

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Prominent Atlantans Named On Frank Trial Jury Venire

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

The venire of 144 men from which twelve will be selected to decide the fate of Leo M. Frank is considered to be one of the most representative ever drawn from a petit jury box in Fulton County. Prominent among the prospective jurors are Joel Hurt, Dr. E. L. Connally and J. W. Alexander, capitalists: David Woodward, president of the Woodward Lumber Company; George Law, of Law Brothers; R. F. Shedden, of the Mutual Life Insurance Company; Thomas D. Meador, vice president of the Lowry National Bank, and Edwin F. Johnson, advertising man.

The complete jury list is printed below:

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State Bolsters Conley

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

Solves Discrepancies of Time

Mistaken Identity To Be Plea

Leo M. Frank Goes to Trial for the Slaying of Mary Phagan Monday, With Both Prosecution and the Defense Confident.

All Preparations Are Made for Big Crowds—Judge Roan to Be on Bench, Despite Recent Illness—Bitter Battle Expected.

Leo M. Frank will go on trial for his life to-morrow forenoon. With the beginning of the great legal battle, hardly more than 24 hours distant, it has been learned that the prosecution has overcome to its own satisfaction the greatest obstacle with which it has been confronted—the reconciling of the negro Conley with that contained in the statements of all the persons who visited the factory and were seen by Conley the day that Mary Phagan was murdered.

The most powerful argument against the truthfulness of the remarkable affidavit in which Conley told of helping Frank dispose of the body of the slain girl was contained in the fact that Conley’s original story in its designation of the time of various occurrences at the factory was in direct conflict with the statements of a number of the factory employees.

Miss Mattie Smith, one of the young women working for the National Pencil Company, told when she was first questioned of leaving the factory at about 9:30. Foreman M. B. Darley walked down the steps with her and said at the Coroner’s inquest that the hour was about 9:30.

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Frank Fights for Life Monday

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst’s Sunday American)
July 27th, 1913

Dorsey Ready to Avenge Mary Phagan

Mystery of Months Is Still Unsolved

Most Bitter Legal Battle in History of Atlanta Courts Is Expected—Case Will Probably Last for Weeks.

After three months of mystery in the death of Mary Phagan, a climax is at hand more tense, more dramatic, more breathlessly interesting to Atlanta and all Georgia than any situation of fiction. Leo M. Frank, employer of the little girl whose tragic death, April 26, stirred a State, will be brought to trial Monday on the charge that he killed her.

Frank’s trial is the crowning event of the hundred thrilling circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Whatever the outcome, regardless of Frank’s conviction or acquittal, the incidents that follow the trial will come as an anti-climax. The prosecution has cast almost all its chances for solving the mystery into the case it has prepared against Frank. Its heavy guns are trained against the factory superintendent. It has opposed the indictment of the single other suspect, the negro Jim Conley. The enthralled interest of a public has been pitched about the question: Is Leo Frank guilty?

FRANK DRAMA’S CENTRAL FIGURE.

Even the pitiful figure of the little factory girl, mysteriously slain, has become subordinate in interest to that of Frank. The young man’s own personality, his steadfastly loyal and loving family, his friends who affirm his innocence in the face of a dark suspicion, all have become factors in making Frank the central figure of the crime drama.

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Frank’s Lawyers Ready for Trial

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Atlanta Constitution
July 26th, 1913

They Have Started Summoning Witnesses and Are Quoted as Having Agreed to Go to Trial.

That Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser, representing Leo M. Frank, charged with the Mary Phagan murder, have decided to go to trial Monday when the case is called was information made public Friday from an apparently reliable source. Coupled with this, and apparently making the trial doubly sure, is the news that the defense has started summoning its witnesses and making final preparations for the actual trial.

Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey reiterated Friday his statement in regard to the stand the state has taken and declared that he would oppose every move for continuance, unless there should prove an extraordinary reason for putting it off.

Judge L. S. Roan who will conduct the trial and who was slightly ill Thursday, had apparently recovered Friday and expects to call the case Monday morning should nothing unusual happen.

Despite the fact that the attorneys for the defense still maintain a blank silence in regard to their position and decline to say whether or not they will ask for a postponement, the impression has got out that they have agreed to having the trial come off.

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Leo Frank Expects Acquittal and Asks an Immediate Trial

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Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal
July 26th, 1913

Pencil Factory Superintendent Declares the Sooner He Faces a Jury the Sooner He’ll Gain His Freedom

ACCUSED OF PHAGAN CRIME, HE WELCOMES TRIAL DAY

Wife is Regular Visitor to the Tower—Frank’s Time In Prison Is Spent in Reading and Playing Chess

Leo M. Frank is ready and anxious to go on trial for his life before Judge Roan in the superior court next Monday morning, according to statements he has made to friends who visited him in his cell in the tower.

“The sooner I face the jury, the sooner I will gain my liberty,” he is quoted as having said.

This indicates that the factory superintendent, accused of the most atrocious crime in Atlanta’s history, is confident of an acquittal.

Frank is as fit physically to face a jury as he was the day he was incarcerated. He has not had a day’s sickness during his detention. He has lived regularly, getting eight hours of sleep and plenty of exercise.

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Veniremen Drawn for Frank Trial

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Atlanta Constitution
July 25th, 1913

One Hundred and Forty-Four Names Drawn From Jury Box—No Effort So Far at Postponement.

The veniremen from which it is expected to choose the jury for the trial Monday of Leo M. Frank, charged with the Mary Phagan murder, was drawn yesterday afternoon by Judge John T. Pendleton, at the request of Judge L. S. Roan, who returned from Covington, Ga., slightly ill.

The names of 144 men were drawn from the petit jury box, and as far as is known no actual attempt was made to have them drawn from the grand jury box, as the attorneys for Frank originally desired.

For the past week the rumor has gone the rounds that Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and L. Z. Rosser, for the defense, would move to postpone the trial. They have so far made no statement in regard to this matter, and decline to assert whether they will endeavor to secure a postponement or not.

Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey declared in most emphatic terms Thursday that he was ready for trial and would exert every effort to prevent a delay. Judge Roan, who was seen at his apartments at 15 East Merritts avenue, declared that he expected to be well again today, as he had merely suffered an attack of indigestion.

He stated that he expected to be able to preside, and would call the case Monday morning, on the date set. Judge Roan has been on the bench for over ten years, and has a record of never having missed a day from his duties as judge, and also of never having failed to open court on the minute.

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Frank Will Likely Face Trial Monday for Phagan Crime

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Atlanta Journal
July 25th, 1913

Defense Subpoenaes 150 Witnesses, and If Any of the Chief Witnesses Are Ill, Continuance Can Be Asked

JUDGE ROAN, WHO WAS ILL, IS REPORTED IMPROVED

Indications Now Are That Defense Will Make No Effort to Have Trial Put Off—144 Veniremen Summoned

The stage is set for the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan on April 26.

Veniremen and witnesses for the defense are being summoned. The witnesses for the state are already under subpoena.

Judge L. S. Roan, who was ill Thursday, is better and ready for the trial. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will insist on a trial.

The attitude of the defense alone is problematical. Neither the state nor the defense is required to announce ready or not ready before a case is actually called in the court room, and apparently there will be no intimation from the defense until 9 o’clock Monday morning, when the clerk calls the name of the defendant in Atlanta’s most sensational murder case.

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