Was Leo Frank Guilty for the Murder of Mary Phagan?

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Introduction In 1915, an unjust tragedy occurred. Leo M. Frank was lynched because he was thought to be guilty for the murder of 14-year-old Mary Phagan. However, was he actually guilty of the crime he was convicted for? More or less, Leo Frank was a victim of press influencing public opinion, the need for Hugh Dorsey (the prosecutor) to have a successful case, and racial prejudice of the time. Contrary to public opinion, Leo Frank was not guilty for murdering Mary Phagan. Overview of the case Reasons for conviction When the public heard of the crime, the police perilously needed someone to blame. If a slayer of the 14-year old Mary Phagan were not found soon, public uproar would become uncontrollable. The public needed a victim to blame for the murder of a young white girl. Conditions in Atlanta were favorable for an outburst against the killer of an innocent soul, especially if the accused murder was non-Anglo- Saxon. These are not the only reasons for urgency to find a killer; the Solicitor General of Atlanta’s circuit, Hugh M. Dorsey, desperately needed a successful conviction because he had recently failed to convict two accused murderers. He was concerned about putting together a case that would hold up in court; no matter what lengths he had to go to in order to accomplish this. Overtime, it became obvious that Dorsey did not necessarily believe that Frank was guilty, but recognized that the political values of his position were uncertain. Because the opinions and activities of the police helped control public reaction, Leo Frank was almost immediately the victim of public clamor. The fact that he was Jewish generated both public and legal controversy. Press spread unstoppable rumors of Frank being a... ... middle of paper ... .... Alphin, Elaine Marie. An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2010. Print. Oney, Steve. And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank. New York : Vintage, 2004. Print. Levy, Eugene."Is the Jew a White Man?": Press Reaction to the Leo Frank Case, 1913-1915. Phylon (1960-2002), Vol. 35, No. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1974), pp. 212-222 Moseley, Clement Charlton. The Case of Leo M. Frank, 1913-1915. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol 51, No 1 (March, 1967), pp. 42-62. Melnick, Jeffrey. "The Night Witch Did It": Villainy and Narrative in the Leo Frank Case. American Literary History, Vol. 12, No. 1/2 (Spring - Summer, 2000), pp. 113-129 Rawls Jr., Wendell . "AFTER 69 YEARS OF SILENCE, LYNCHING VICTIM IS CLEARED." New York Times 8 March 1982, Special to the New York Times n. pag. Print.

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