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 he had never seen him drink or associate with women at the factory. He recalled seeing several male employees that morning but did not remember others later mentioned in the trial. On cross-examination, Mann said Frank spent the morning quietly at his desk, leaving only once for an unspecified period.
After weeks of testimony and argument, the jury found Frank guilty on August 25, 1913. Judge Roan confirmed the verdict the next day, sentencing Frank to death by hanging. Multiple appeals followed but were all rejected, as the Georgia Supreme Court upheld both the evidence and the jury’s decision.
At the time, The Atlanta Journal—a powerful evening paper founded in 1883—chronicled the trial and shaped much of the public conversation. Its influence reached into homes across Georgia, ensuring that developments from the courtroom informed and stirred readers daily.
Comments