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. Frank asked him to telephone Mr. Schiff, but a woman answered and said Schiff had not yet risen. Mann added that during prior Saturdays, Frank had worked regularly and that he had never seen him drinking or socializing with women in the factory. On the morning of April 26, he saw several coworkers present but did not recall seeing others later cited in testimony. On cross-examination, Mann confirmed that Frank worked steadily that morning, leaving his office only once for a short time.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on August 25, 1913, and Judge Roan sentenced Frank to death the following day. Subsequent appeals were all denied, with the Georgia Supreme Court affirming that the evidence and testimony presented at trial supported the conviction.
During this period, The Atlanta Journal, then a leading evening newspaper, shaped much of public opinion. Founded in 1883, it reported extensively on the trial until its eventual merger in 2001 with The Atlanta Constitution to form The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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