Tag Archives: Luther Rosser

Negro Conley May Face Frank Today

Posted on by

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

The Atlanta Constitution

June 13, 1913

Hearing Before Judge Roan Today Will Decide Whether Negro Will Be Sent to Tower.

Whether James Conley, the negro sweeper, who swears that Leo Frank got his aid in disposing of Mary Phagan’s body and made him write the notes found near her, will be held as a material witness in the county jail or turned free and re-arrested by detectives as a suspect and then kept at police station, is due to be decided at 10 o’clock on the hearing of the rule nisi before Judge L. S. Roan.

The question of Conley’s liberty is not at stake, as the solicitor as well as Attorney L. Z. Rosser, for Frank, and the negro’s own lawyer, W. M. Smith, have announced that they desire him held.

Judge Roan has reached the decision that the negro should be kept at the Tower, where it is claimed that he does not wish to stay, as he asserts that he was intimidated while spending one night there after swearing to writing the notes.

Frank’s attorneys desire that the negro be placed in the Tower where Frank, under indictment for the murder, and Newt Lee, held as a material witness, are now kept.

Frank May Face Negro.

It is possible the meeting between Frank and the negro sweeper, which detectives have urged for several weeks, will finally take place today when the rule nisi is heard, as Frank is one of those named to show cause why the negro should not be released and Solicitor Hugh Dorsey may demand that he appear in person.

Should the negro be quizzed in the presence of the man whom he accuses, his every action and look as he sees Frank’s eyes upon him will be followed closely by detectives and by the solicitor himself, and a crisis in the case may develop from the meeting.

While it is certain that Attorney Rosser will go as far as possible in his attempt to have the negro held in the custody of the state, which means his incarceration in the Tower and out of reach of the detectives, it is not believed that he will speak freely or show many of his reasons for his claim that Conley is the murderer.

It is known that the greatest wish of the attorney for Frank is to get Conley out of the hands of the detectives and on account of this it is possible that he will show his hand to a certain extent at today’s hearing.

* * *

The Atlanta Constitution, June 13th 1913, “Negro Conley May Face Frank Today,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Face Conley and Frank, Lanford Urges

Posted on by

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

The Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, June 12, 1913

Detective Chief Ready to Have Accuser Confront Prisoner Before Grand Jury.

New sensations are expected in the Phagan mystery Friday morning when the petition of Solicitor Dorsey for the revocation of the order holding James Conley as a material witness is heard before Judge L. S. Roan.

Luther Z. Rosser, attorney for Leo Frank, will be afforded his first opportunity formally to present his reasons for the holding of James Conley, not only as a material witness in the baffling murder mystery, but as an actual suspect.

While it is not anticipated that the attorney will disclose his hand too freely, it is to be supposed that he will present every argument he believes necessary to keep the negro in the custody of the State.

Lanford Agrees to Test.

Chief of Detectives Lanford Thursday replied to the demand of Luther Z. Rosser that Jim Conley be taken before the Grand Jury by making the startling proposition that he would take the negro to be questioned by this body the instant that Rosser assented to having Frank before the Grand Jury at the same time.

That this dramatic situation is not beyond the pale of possibilities within the next few days is indicated by the attitude of Frank’s friends, who have been suggesting just such an arrangement.

Chief Lanford Is Willing.

“I am perfectly willing that Conley should be taken before the Grand Jury,” said Chief Lanford. “I think it is only fair, however, that Rosser permit his client to go there at the same time, where he may be confronted by the negro and where the negro may tell his story right before Frank.

“Just the instant that Rosser consents to an arrangement of this sort, I will be prepared to have Conley on his way to the Grand Jury room. There will be no delay. It is irregular, of course, but I am perfectly willing to waive that phase of the matter. The fact that Frank already is indicted makes it unnecessary for Conley to be called before the Grand Jury to give testimony against him.”

Chief Lanford, referring to the effort to remove Conley from the station house to the jail, said that he would hold the negro at police headquarters until there was a court order to the contrary. He said that if Solicitor Dorsey’s petition was successful and Conley was freed from the present court order, that he would still be held at the station as a material witness. Continue Reading →

Court’s Order May Result in Meeting of Negro and Frank

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, June 12th, 1913

Jim Conley, Negro Sweeper, Accusing Witness in Phagan Case, Sure to Appear Before Judge Roan Friday A. M.

STATE MAY DEMAND THAT FRANK APPEAR THERE TOO

Through Judge’s Order, Defense Gets Chance to Quiz Negro—State Then May Force Long-Sought Meeting

The probability that Leo M. Frank, accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, and Jim Conley, negro witness against him, may face each other Friday, developed Thursday morning from the acute situation which arose Wednesday when Judge L. S. Roan issued a rule niel calling on any one to show cause why the negro Conley should not be released from the custody of the state. Solicitor Dorsey seeks the negro’s release so as to avert the judge’s expressed intention of remanding Conley to the county jail, but the solicitor does not seek the negro’s liberty, nor does Conley want to get out of the hands of the police, nor does Conley’s attorney, W. M. Smith want him liberated.

The rather puzzling matter assumed this shape Thursday morning.

NEGRO SURE TO BE THERE.

Conley, the negro, who says he does not want to go free, but who declares he is afraid to go back to the tower, is certain to be called into the hearing before Judge Roan at 10 o’clock Friday on the rule nisi.

The solicitor wants him there, it is expected, to prove alleged intimidation and threats against Conley on a former occasion when for one night immediately following his confession the negro was confined in the Fulton county tower.

And the attorneys defending Frank want him there, it is expected with equal confidence, to learn from him all that he knows or claims to know about the case, which is precisely the thing that the solicitor’s fight is aimed entirely to avoid. The Frank defense has published statements alleging that the negro himself is the principal in the murder and that he alone is guilty.

Therefore, with Conley in chambers before the judge, Solicitor Dorsey can, it is said, have Leo M. Frank brought there, because Frank is the first among those addressed by Judge Roan in the rule nisi and the solicitor can find legal precedent for demanding that Frank speak his own accusations against the negro on that occasion.

Which would bring about the situation that the state and its officers constantly have been seeking to create when Conley first admitted that he wrote the notes found beside Mary Phagan’s dead body, i. e., a face to face meeting between the negro and the man whom he accuses of the murder. Continue Reading →

Conley’s Status in Phagan Case May Be Changed Wednesday

Posted on by

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

The Atlanta Journal

June 11, 1913

Petition Will Be Presented to Judge Roan by Solicitor Dorsey but Its Nature Is Not Made Known

ROSSER’S CARD CAUSES ACTIVITY BEHIND SCENES

Negro May Be Put Back in the Tower – Solicitor Dorsey Says: “I Am Trying to Run State’s Case Myself”

The report became current Wednesday afternoon shortly after 3 o’clock that the new development in the Phagan case would be a withdrawal by the state of its petition in court whereunder James Conley, the negro, is held as a material witness.

Shortly before 3 o’clock, William Smith, attorney for the negro, and Solicitor Dorsey appeared at the court house together, for this purpose, it was said.

Attorney Smith does not want the negro confined in the Fulton county jail, where he declares he was menaced during the one night that he spent there after his affidavit became public. There has been no insistence from Attorney Smith. It is said, that any damage whatever be made in the status of the negro.

As the result of the clash between the prosecution and the defense of Leo M. Frank, over James Conely, it is expected that the negro’s legal status will be changed in some way, probably Wednesday afternoon.

It is also barely possible that Conley will be indicted Thursday by the grand jury as an accessory after the fact of Mary Phagan’s murder, but this is not considered probable.

Conley is now at police headquarters, held by authority of an order from Judge L. S. Roan, of the criminal division of the superior court. Conley is held as a material witness in the case against Frank.

The negro sweeper was transferred soon after he made his sensational confession, charging Frank with being the principal in the Phagan murder, from police headquarters to the Tower, where he remained about twenty-four hours.

Then he was transferred again, on a superior court order, to police headquarters, his attorney, William M. Smith, consenting to the move.

The obvious reason for the transfer was to prevent the negro’s talking to interviewers, who are allowed into the jail if the prisoner has no objection to talking to them.

At police headquarters only the detective and sometimes the prisoners lawyer, is allowed to see him.

Conley’s attorney, William M. Smith, stated Wednesday that he would prefer for the negro to be incerated at police headquarters rather than at the tower. Continue Reading →

Lanford Silent on Rosser’s Card

Posted on by

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

The Atlanta Constitution

June 11, 1913

Detective Chief Says He Has No Reply to Make to the Charges of Counsel for Leo M. Frank.

Following the public letter written yesterday by Luther Z. Rosser, counsel for Leo Frank, Detective Chief Newport Lanford said that he had no reply to make to the charges and that hereafter he intended to adopt a policy of silence.

The chief smiled frequently while reading the attorney’s statement, but be positively declined to comment on it.

“Henceforth,” he stated briefly, “It will be the attitude of the detective department to avoid publicity. It should have been done heretofore.”

Lanford declared that Rosser’s card is only an attempt to draw the detective chief into a newspaper controversy, which he intended to avert.

“It is all a scheme—nothing else,” he said, “and I do not propose to be made a victim.”

The statement of Frank’s counsel is a scathing arraignment of Chief Lanford and his department for alleged efforts to prove guilty a white man, against whom prejudice had been created, through the “lying” stories of a negro, against whom all “legitimate” suspicion already was directed.

It follows: Continue Reading →

Luther Z. Rosser, Attorney for Frank, Trains His Guns on City Detective Chief

Posted on by

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

The Atlanta Journal

Tuesday, June 10, 1913

SAYS CHIEF LANFORD IS NOT SEEKING FOR TRUTH OF MURDER

He Charges That the Detective Chief Has Banked His Sense and Reputation on Proving Frank Guilty

“WHY HASN’T CONLEY BEEN BEFORE JURY?”

Attorney Declares Evidence All Points to Negro—Says Felder-Lanford Controversy Unfair to His Client

Luther Z. Rosser, chief counsel for Leo M. Frank, the pencil factory superintendent, who is under indictment for the murder of Mary Phagan, Tuesday afternoon broke his persistent silence regarding the case and gave out a statement for publication.

Mr. Rosser gives as a reason for this statement the fact that Thomas B. Felder has publicly charged Detective Chief Lanford with trying to shield Frank and that the detective chief has in turn publicly accused Felder with having been employed in the interest of Frank.

The accuracy of both charges is denied. Mr. Rosser asserts that Chief Lanford has “banked his sense and reputation as both a man and politician on Frank’s guilt,” and that if he had been seeking the murderer of Mary Phagan with an open mind and not seeking to vindicate his announced opinion of Frank’s guilt, the negro Conley would have already told the whole truth.

Mr. Rosser declares that both the actions and statements of the negro Conley bear the marks of guilt. He states that in making his revelations concerning the murder, Conley is handicapped by Lanford’s opinion.

Mr. Rosser inquires why it was the detectives did not present Conley as a witness before the coroner’s jury and why they now prevent him from telling his story to the grand jury, which he says should determine whether the negro should be indicted, and if so on what count.

MR. ROSSER’S STATEMENT.

Following is Mr. Rosser’s statement in full: Continue Reading →

Leo Frank Reported Ready for His Trial

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Constitution

Tuesday, June 10, 1913

Many Witnesses Are Being Examined Every Day by Attorneys for the Defense

That counsel for Leo Frank is ready for trial was freely reported over the city Monday.

Attorney Luther Z. Rosser, his lawyer, when asked regarding this report, gave the reply that has been characteristic of his attitude during the Phagan case.

“I have nothing to say.” He would in nowise commit himself.

It is understood, however, that Mr. Rosser has informed friends that the defense is ready and that there will be no delay in putting it before the jury, which is to try the pencil factory superintendent. In fact, it is stated Frank’s counsel is desirous of an early trial.

Many witnesses are being examined daily by Frank’s attorneys. Pencil plant employees and character witnesses by scores will assist his counsel. Secrecy is thrown around the nature of all testimony.

Chief Lanford said Monday that he had finished examining Jim Conley, the negro sweeper, and that unless the prisoner called for detectives to make further voluntary admissions, he would not again be questioned.

Detectives Harry Scott and John Black spent the early part of last night searching for the victim’s mesh bag. After hours of hunting on the premises of the pencil plant, they were unable to discover a clew. The bag is wanted to examine the finger prints on it.

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, June 10th 1913, “Leo Frank Reported Ready for His Trial,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Defense to Make Next Move in Phagan Case

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Journal

Monday, June 9th, 1913

Apparently Prosecuting Officials Consider Their Investigation Complete

Chief of Detectives Lanford has announced that Jim Conley, the negro sweeper, who is the state’s principal witness in the case against Leo M. Frank, indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan, will not be cross-examined again unless he voluntarily sends for the officers to make a statement.

It is known that no developments have changed the theory of the prosecuting authorities, and it is apparent from the remark of Chief Lanford and other statements that the officials consider the investigation of the Phagan murder as complete, and are now waiting for the big legal fight to be staged before Judge L. S. Roan probably on Monday, June 30.

With the state “resting on its oars,” it is naturally expected that the next move, if there is to be one, will come from the defense of Mr. Frank.

To forecast any “move” which may be made by the defense before the case actually comes before the court, is a difficult proposition since Luther Z. Rosser, the leading counsel, continues silent.

It is known that friends of the accused man have been actively at work in his behalf, but what they have developed remains a matter for conjectures.

Frank spent a quiet day in the tower Sunday and was visited by his wife and quite a number of the friends, who are standing by him in his trouble.

R. P. Barrett, one of the foreman at the National Pencil factory, and the man who found the strands of hair on the lathe in the metal room, has issued a statement giving his reason for sharing the opinion of practically all of the pencil factory employees, that the negro Conley is guilty of the crime with which the factory superintendent is charged.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, June 9th 1913, “Defense to Make Next Move in Phagan Case,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Solicitor Makes No Reply to Mrs. Frank

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Journal

Sunday, June 8, 1913

Hugh M. Dorsey Has No Comment to Make on Mrs. Frank’s Letter

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey has declined to make any answer to the published statement of Mrs. Leo M. Frank, charging him with allowing the use of “torture” to force people to make false statements against her husband, who is charged by a grand jury indictment with the murder of Mary Phagan.

In her statement, Mrs. Frank flayed the solicitor general, charging that it is evident from his card that he believes that he is perfectly justifiable in using testimony procured from witnesses by torture.

While the statement of the accused man’s wife is directed at the solicitor general, she pays her respects to the city detectives in no uncertain terms, and she speaks often on the “detectives’ torture chamber.”

According to the authorities, there have been no recent developments in the Phagan murder investigation, and the state and the defense are both lending their energies towards preparation for the trial of Frank, which will be fixed for June 30, it is said.

The trial is certain to be a tremendous legal battle, and it is probable that several attorneys will be engaged to assist Luther Z. Rosser and Herbert Haas in the defense and the solicitor general in the prosecution. Both Mr. Dorsey and Mr. Rosser decline to discuss in any way their preparations for the trial.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, June 8th 1913, “Solicitor Makes No Reply to Mrs. Frank,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Defense Bends Efforts to Prove Conley Slayer

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, June 7th, 1913

The defense of Leo Frank against the charge of murdering Mary Phagan will be more than a mere attempt to clear Frank’s skirts. It will seek directly to fix upon James Conley, negro, full and complete responsibility for the crime.

Despite the secretiveness and the silence of Frank’s attorneys, it has been ascertained with a reasonable degree of authority that the foregoing is the program of the defense, and that the defense believes itself abundantly prepared to take care of itself along that line.

An ironclad alibi, covering all the time cited in the Conley statement with a substantial margin of time to spare, will be set up by Frank.

In addition to this, it will be shown that Conley was in the factory at the time he himself says Frank committed the murder, and for a long time before.

The defense will try to show that Conley had ample opportunity to accomplish the murder, and that every circumstance of it shows that he did do so. Continue Reading →

Negro’s Affidavit Not Given Much Credence

Posted on by

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, June 5th, 1913

Even the City Detectives, It Is Said, Attach Very Little Importance to Document

Very little importance, it is said, is attached by the city detectives to the sensational and incoherent affidavit of Minola McKnight, the negro cook at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, 68 East Georgia avenue, where Leo M. Frank, the pencil factory superintendent, and his wife reside.

Attorney Luther Rosser, chief counsel for the indicted superintendent, read the affidavit with apparent amusement. He had no comment to make, but it was evident that Mr. Rosser did not regard the affidavit seriously.

Mr. and Mrs. Selig and Mrs. Frank read the affidavit in The Journal, and although they would make no statement for publication, they appeared to view the negro woman’s testimony as absurd and ridiculous on the face of it.

But little of the cook’s testimony, even should she stick to her story until the day of the trial, will be admissible in court. It is largely alleged hearsay evidence and, therefore, barred.

The woman, in her affidavit, swears that Frank came home to lunch on the Saturday of the Mary Phagan murder, about 1:30; that he did not eat anything and that he remained only about ten minutes. If the negress knows of her own knowledge that this is true she can so testify in court. However, Mr. Selig, Frank’s father-in-law, will swear as he did before the coroner’s inquest, that Frank ate lunch with him and afterwards lay down on a lounge for a nap. Mrs. Selig will reiterate her testimony at the inquest, which was to the effect that Frank came home about 1:30 o’clock and that she and her daughter, Mrs. Frank, were dressed and ready to go to a grand opera matinee; that soon after his arrival they left.

The McKnight woman, in her affidavit, declares that some time on Sunday she overheard Mrs. Frank tell her mother, Mrs. Selig, that Frank came home drunk the night before, that he was very restless and acted queerly; that he told her (Mrs. Frank) that he was in trouble and begged her to get his pistol in order that he might kill himself. Continue Reading →

Leo Frank’s Cook Put Under Arrest

Posted on by

leo-franks-cook

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

Atlanta Constitution

Tuesday, June 3rd, 1913

Reported That She Is Being Held as Witness—Defense of Prisoner in the Tower Outlined.

Another arrest was made yesterday in the Phagan mystery. Minola McKnight, cook and servant in the Leo Frank household, was sent to police headquarters by Detectives Starnes and Campbell when she hysterically created a scene at Pryor and Mitchell streets, sobbing and moaning that “they were going to hang her for something she knew nothing about.”

She is being held under a charge of suspicion. Chief Lanford said last night, however, that she will likely be used as a witness against her suspected employer. She has not been questioned yet by the police or detectives, but will be put through a cross-examination some time soon.

Although officials at headquarters will not talk regarding the arrest of the McKnight woman, the general impression prevails that she is being held as a material witness and that she was taken into custody because of discrepancies rumored to have been found in her statement to Solicitor Dorsey.

It is reported that she has told a number of conflicting stories, and for this reason the solicitor ordered her confinement until time of trial. The solicitor will have nothing to say on the subject.

Leo Frank’s Defense.

[…] sources Monday that Frank’s defense.

It was learned from responsible will be in the production of an alibi. Five witnesses, it is said, are prepared to testify that the suspect was at home by 1:30 o’clock on the day of the tragedy. They are Mrs. Frank, Miss Corinthia Hall, his mother-in-law, Mrs. Emil Selig, his father-in-law, Emil Selig and the negress who was arrested Monday. Continue Reading →

Frank’s Defense is Outlined

Posted on by

franks-defense-is-outlined

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

Atlanta Journal

Monday, June 2nd, 1913

Mary Phagan Met Death on First Floor, Is Claim

Defense Will Endeavor to Show That Conley Struck Her in Head and Threw Her Down Elevator Shaft

ELEVATOR WAS NOT MOVED APRIL 26, IT IS CONTENDED

Blood Spots on Second Floor Explained by Fact That Employes Frequently Cut Fingers—Theory in Detail

From apparently reliable authority it was learned Monday that the theory to be advanced in defense of Leo M. Frank, the pencil factory superintendent, who has been indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan, will be that James Conley, the negro sweeper, and he alone, killed the girl and hid her body in the factory basement.

Notwithstanding Luther Z. Rosser, chief counsel for Frank, maintains his sphinxlike attitude and declines to discuss the theory of the defense, it is understood that the arguments in Frank’s favor will be based upon the idea that Conley was without assistance in the commission of the crime and that Frank had no knowledge whatever of it.

The defense will, it is said, take the position that Mary Phagan was killed on the first floor of the factory at the foot of the stairs where the negro admits he was in hiding. The suggestion of the girl having been killed on the second floor, as declared by Conley in his affidavit of confession, will, it is said, be ridiculed.

It will be contended that Conley was in hiding on the first floor from about 9 o’clock in the morning, most probably with the intention of robbing some of the women employes who came for their pay.

It will be shown that many of the incidents which the negro swears happened while he was secluded among the boxes by the stairs occurred before Frank went over to Nelson street, and therefore, the negro must be lying when he says that he met the superintendent at the corner of Nelson and Forsyth streets and followed him back to the factory sometime between 10:30 and 11 o’clock. Continue Reading →

Confession of Conley Makes No Changes in State’s Case

Posted on by

confession-of-conley

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

Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, June 1st, 1913

Negro Will Be Used as Material Evidence Against Frank, Says Solicitor Dorsey

LEE LIKELY TO BE FREED

Sweeper Sticks to Story Accusing Head of Pencil Factory of Phagan Slaying.

The startling confessions by Jim Conley of the part he played in the Phagan murder mystery have not changed the State’s case in any of its essential features, according to an announcement from Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey, at the close of a long examination of the negro yesterday.

Stormed at for several hours by the Solicitor and the city detectives, Conley’s story was unchanged and he threw no new light on the case.

“He has told everything he knows of the crime,” one of the detectives said as the negro was led from the Solicitor’s office to be taken back to the police station.

Regarded as one of the most significant announcements from the Solicitor was that the negro would be prosecuted as an accessory after the fact unless some new development connected him more directly with the crime.

To Be Material Witness.

The Solicitor also outlined his intention of using Conley as a material witness against Leo M. Frank. He explained that the negro, being under indictment as an accessory, would in no way interfere with his being used as a witness.

When the Grand Jury meets next Friday it is more than likely it will take some action on the bill of indictment drawn at the same time with that of Frank, charging Newt Lee, the night watchman, with the murder.

Developments since the indictment was drawn have pretty clearly eliminated Lee from the case, except in the capacity of a witness, and a “no bill” is expected to the indictment.

Conley Grilled for Hours.

For hours Saturday James Conley, negro sweeper, whose sensational confession accuses Superintendent Leo M. Frank of the murder of Mary Phagan, explained in detail to Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey the dread mysteries of the National Pencil Factory on April 26, explaining many things that had not been clear to the officials, but sticking tenaciously to the story he told the city detectives. Continue Reading →

Conley is Unwittingly Friend of Frank, Says Old Police Reporter

Posted on by

conley-isAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, June 1st, 1913

By AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.

Developments came thick and fast during the past week, and one is able to approach consideration of the Phagan case to-day with more assurance and ease of mind than heretofore.

Distinctly have the clouds lifted, so I think, from about Leo Frank, and if not yet are they “in the deep bosom of the ocean buried,” they have, nevertheless I take it, served to let a measure of the sunshine in.

Leo Frank, snatching eagerly at that faltering ray of blessed and thrice-welcome light, may thank the negro Conley for it—albeit Conley let it in neither by way of an impulse of sympathy nor intentional truth.

If I were a de-tec-i-tiff—which, praise be to Allah, I am not!—I think I should cease shouting from the housetops my unshakable belief in Frank’s guilt, and should begin to contemplate in solemn and searching analysis the shifty and amazing James Conley, negro!

It is my opinion, bluntly stated, that Conley is an unmitigated liar, all the way through, and that the truth is not in him!

His statement appeals to me an Old Police Reporter—and not a de-tec-i-tiff, again praise be to Allah!—as distinctly the weightiest document in Leo Frank’s favor that yet has been promulgated.

Would Belong in Asylum.

Certainly, if Frank DID do the astonishing things Conley attributes to him, he should not be sent to the gallows, in any event, for he surely belongs in Milledgeville, safely held in the State lunatic asylum. But, more of Conley hereafter. The issue of murder has been made with Leo Frank, and he must face trial. The Grand Jury has indicted him, and he will be arraigned in due time and in order.

It will be a finish fight between the State and the defendant. There can be no compromise now—either Frank is guilty or he is innocent, and the truth of that is for twelve men, “good and true,” to say. Continue Reading →

Conley is Removed from Fulton Tower at His Own Request

Posted on by

conley-is-removed

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

Atlanta Constitution

Sunday, June 1st, 1913

Friends of Leo Frank Have Tried to Intimidate Him, Negro Sweeper Tells Detective Chief as Reason for His Transfer to the Police Station.

LANFORD RAPS SHERIFF DECLARING HE IS NOT ASSISTING THE POLICE

“He Appears to Be Placing Obstacles in Our Way,” Asserts Chief, in Speaking of Attempts to Interview the Suspected Superintendent. Mangum Denies Intimidation Attempts.

Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford is authority for the statement that James Conley, the negro floor sweeper of the National Pencil factory, who, in his latest affidavit, has admitted his complicity in the Mary Phagan murder, after the killing, but lays the crime at the door of Superintendent Leo M. Frank, was removed from Fulton county Tower to police barracks for imprisonment at his own request to put an end to the attempts of the friends of the superintendent to intimidate him.

Conley was carried to the police barracks Saturday afternoon after he had been removed from the Tower to the courthouse, where he was put through two hours of questioning by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and his counsel, Attorney W. M. Smith.

Wanted to Avoid Frank’s Friends.

Chief of Detectives Lanford declared to a Constitution reporter last night that Conley had asked him to be taken away from the Tower to escape the harassments of the visitors of Leo Frank, declaring that they stopped at his cell and tried to make him drink liquor, and had tried to intimidate him by making jeering remarks to him and implying threats. Continue Reading →

Lanford Tells Why Conley Was Placed in Police Station

Posted on by

lanford-tells-why

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

Atlanta Journal

Sunday, June 1st, 1913

Chief of Detectives Gives Out Statement Relative to Transfer of Prisoner From the Tower to Headquarters

FURTHER QUESTIONING IS PLANNED BY DETECTIVES

No Arrangement Yet Made for Negro to Confront Frank—Report of Finding Girl’s Purse Proves Without Foundation

The prosecuting officials connected with the Phagan case all denied Saturday evening that the state’s theory of the murder has been changed by anything that the negro sweeper Conley has said, but the fact that the negro was transferred t police headquarters, where he can be freely examined by the detectives, seems to show that the officials are not fully satisfied with Conley’s story of the crime as it now stands.

Conley was permitted to leave the jail on an order signed by Judge L. S. Roan, of the superior court. Conley was perfectly willing to accompany the officers anywhere they desired to take him.

From the jail he was carried by Deputy Newt Garner to the solicitor’s office, and it is said that only after the solicitor had talked with the negro two hours and gone over all of the “rough places in the story” was the decision to take him to police headquarters, rather than the jail reached.

REASON FOR TRANSFER.

Two reasons are assigned by Detective Chief N. A. Lanford for the removal of Conley from the Fultin [sic] county jail back to the state cell in police headquarters, where he was imprisoned for more than three weeks.

The first, according to the chief, is that Conley requested that he be transferred back, stating in explanation or his request that he was greatly annoyed Friday night by persons who came to visit in the tower. Continue Reading →

Plan to Confront Conley and Frank for New Admission

Posted on by

plan-to-confront-conley

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

Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, May 31st, 1913

Police Hope Meeting Will Prove Whether Negro Will Stick to Latest Story Under Eyes of the Man He Accuses—Ready to Pay Penalty.

[Important Developments Looked For, but Nothing Sensational Made Public—Insists He Has Told All, but Further Confession Is Expected.

For hours Saturday James Conley, negro sweeper, whose sensational confession accuses Superintendent Leo M. Frank of the murder of Mary Phagan, explained in detail to Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey the dread mysteries of the National Pencil Factory on April 26, explaining many things that had not been clear to the officials, but sticking tenaciously to the story he told the city detectives.

Conley was taken to the Solicitor’s office at that official’s request and put through a severe cross-examination. With an elaborate diagram, drawn for the Solicitor by Bert Green, a Georgian staff artist, to guide him, the negro traced the various scenes in the factory after the slaying of the girl.

He told just where he first claims to have found her and how he and the superintendent he accuses attempted to dispose of the body. The drama he enacted in the factory Friday for the detectives he re-enacted for the Solicitor in the little room at the court house with the artist’s charge as the stage and his finger as the tracer of tragedy.

Dorsey Well Satisfied.

The Solicitor was well satisfied with the results obtained in the secret conference behind closed doors and certain points that had been vague to him before were made clear.

At Conley’s own request, through William Smith, his counsel, the negro was later transferred to the police station. The negro had been so besieged by questioners at the county jail that he asked to be put within the shelter of police headquarters, where he had been closely guarded and where none but policemen had been allowed to interrogate him.

Conley intimated that he had been threatened at the jail, but little credence was put in his ramblings. It was plain that he wanted rest. He had told his story so often—each time, it may be noted, in almost the same words—that he was tired. The police agreed that he had answered enough questions from outsiders and he was moved. — The above section in brackets is additional information reported in the earlier “home” edition of the Georgian from the same date — Ed.]

A determined effort is being made by the police department to bring Leo M. Frank face to face with his accuser, Jim Conley, the negro sweeper.

The detectives wish to learn how Conley will go through the ordeal of confronting the man he accuses of directing the disposal of the body of Mary Phagan, and dictating the notes that were found her body. Continue Reading →

Mary Phagan’s Murder Was Work of a Negro Declares Leo M. Frank

Posted on by

14390922_10155190778292977_6948068707988274765_nAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Constitution

Saturday, May 31st, 1913

“No Man With Common Sense Would Even Suspect That I Did It,” Prisoner in Fulton Tower Tells Attache. “It’s a Negro’s Crime Through and Through.” Asserts His Innocence to Turnkeys and to Fellow Prisoners.

“IT’S UP TO MR. FRANK TO TELL THE TRUTH,” ASSERTS JAMES CONLEY

“I Believe He’d Let ‘Em Hang Me to Get Out of It Himself if He Had the Chance,” Says Negro Sweeper—Chief Lanford Is Pleased With Work of Department and Ready for the Case to Come to Trial Immediately.

“No white man killed Mary Phagan. It’s a negro’s crime, through and through. No man with common sense would even suspect that I did it.”

This declaration was made by Leo M. Frank in his cell at the Tower to a jail attaché, the attaché told a reporter for The Constitution last night. He is also stated to have made incessant pleas of innocence to turnkeys and prisoners who are permitted within the sacred confines of his cell.

No newspaper men are allowed to see him. He has instructed Sheriff Mangum to permit no one in his presence except at his request. The sheriff is obeying the order to the letter. Even Chief Lanford, headquarters detectives and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, which agency is in the prisoner’s employ, are denied admission to his cell.

Coupled with the declaration Frank is said to have made to the jail attaché, comes his statement made Friday to Sheriff Mangum that he knew not who was guilty, but that the murderer should hang. This was made after news reached him of Conley’s confession, it is said.

Many Friends Visit Frank.

Frank devours newspaper stories of the Phagan investigation, it is said at the jail. His cell is crowded daily with friends and relatives who bring him papers and delicacies. His wife now visits him once each day. He talks but little of the crime to anyone beside his friends, and but little is gained from him by the jailers and prisoners who visit him. Continue Reading →

Conley, Taken to Factory, Shows Where Girl Was Found—How They Put Body in Basement

Posted on by

conley

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 30th, 1913

Gruesome Part Played By Him Illustrated

In Presence of Detectives, Factory Officials and Newspaper Men, the Negro Goes Over Every Point of His Statement From the Time Frank is Alleged to Have Directed Him to the Metal Room Until Girl’s Body Was Left in the Basement

“MR. FRANK AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE FORSAKEN ME AND I DECIDED TO TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH,” HE DECLARES

He Says His Statement Is Voluntary, That He Has Not Been Browbeaten Nor Mistreated by the Detectives—Full Story of His Confession to Being an Accessory After the Fact and His Visit to the Pencil Factory—Frank Makes No Comment

Following his full confession of his part in the mysterious murder of Mary Phagan, the pretty fourteen-year-old factory girl, James Conley, the negro sweeper, was Friday afternoon taken to the National Pencil factory on South Forsyth street and there in the presence of a half dozen detectives, several newspaper men and the factory officials illustrated in detail his own and Superintendent Leo M. Frank’s movements after he was called upstairs to aid in removing the dead girl’s body.

Conley led the officers back to the extreme rear of the metal room on the second floor and into a little alleyway off to the left where he said he found the girl’s dead body after Frank let him in. He lay down on his stomach with his hands stretched by his side to show how the body was found. He said a cord was about the girl’s neck and was stretched on the floor at right angles to the body.

He said that after he saw the body he went back to where Frank was standing at the head of the stairs watching and went into a room on the left just beyond the stairs where he got a big piece of crocus-bagging; that he took this bagging back and tied the girl’s body up in it much after the fashion a washerwoman tied up her soiled clothes; that he then took the body on his right shoulder and started up toward the elevator in the front (Frank remaining at the head of the stairs and just outside the double doors  to the metal room all the while.)

Conley declared that when he had walked half way up the room the body slipped off his shoulder to the floor. (This was the place where the bloodspots were found and where it has hitherto been believed the girl was murdered.) Continue Reading →