Leo Frank - Trial

Leo Frank - Trial

Factual Background of the Case

The case of Leo Frank is one of the highly publicized cases in the legal records of Georgia. In Atlanta, a Jewish man was placed on trial and condemned or murdering and raping a 13year old girl who worked for the National Pencil Company which Frank used to manage.

On April 26, 1913, a child of tenant farmers named Mary Phagan moved to Atlanta for monetary gain, she went to pick her $1.20 pay from the pencil factory for the 12 hours work she did that week. Phagan was paid by the superintendent of the factory Leo Frank and he was the last person to admit having seen her alive. The watchman of the factory found her battered and bloodied body in the basement and he called the police at once. The city was shocked after hearing the news. A young girl had been murdered brutally; rumors spread that before her death she had been sexually assaulted. The public demanded swift justice and quick action (Dinnerstein, 2008).

Evidence

When Franks was arrested by the police from his house, he seemed worried and nervous. He went with them to the factory to see Phagan's body. However, Frank claimed that he was in his office for about fifteen minutes or more the previous day after Phagan left the office. Another factory worker who had come soon later to collect her pay stated that 'when she arrived, Frank was not in sight'. She left after waiting for few minutes. Another early suspect of the case was the night watchman who told the police that later in the day Frank called to check if everything was fine, which he had never done until that time.

Frank was arrested on the basis of this evidence. Afterwards, the police collected more evidence before making a decision to put Frank on trial. Jim Conley, the state's main witness, a janitor who was arrested after he was seen cleaning blood stains from a shirt, later gave at least four differing statements elucidating how he assisted Frank to dispose of the body (Melnick, 2000).

Outcome of the case

At Trial

The outcome of the case is based principally on the statement of the janitor, who had been held in concealment for about six weeks prior to the trial on orders from Hugh M. Dorsey the Solicitor General, the judges condemned the defendant. The ...