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A review by mnboyer
An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank by Elaine Marie Alphin
5.0
April 26, 1913 -- Mary Phagan, a young 14-year-old girl, is on her way to a parade but stops at National Pencil Company ti pick up her $1.20 paycheck. The next morning she is found dead in the basement.
The investigation begins with the African American "night watchman" that found Mary, but Newt Lee is eventually found to be innocent. Times are hard in Georgia at the time and as it turns out antisemitism is high because suddenly everyone turns their attention to the director of National Pencil Company, Leo Frank. Called a 'Yankee Jew' by many, Frank will be accused of murdering Mary. Several 'witnesses' even get on the stand and start accusing him of having inappropriate relationships with the young girls (including a suggestion that he enjoyed oral sex because, as a Jew with a circumcised penis, it was the only sexual pleasure he could find). The case gets a lot of attention and eventually a jury decided that Frank was guilty and sentenced him to hang. This was later commuted to life imprisonment (giving Frank a chance to appeal). But, a group of 'townies' including Judge Morris get together on August 17, 1915 and abduct Frank and then lynch him.
As you can imagine -- I am enraged because the lynch mob never saw any penalties for murdering Frank. That's right, I said murdering, because now in 2019 it seems pretty clear that Frank did not kill Mary. It makes much more sense that Jim Conley, a janitor at the factory, actually killed Mary. Many years later (almost 70?) a young boy admits that he saw Conley with Mary but was afraid to tell the truth. Several other authors have also taken a peek at the case and tend to agree Leo M. Frank was innocent. He was murdered because he was Jewish.
For further reading see: [b:And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank|1697440|And the Dead Shall Rise The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank|Steve Oney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439337670l/1697440._SX50_.jpg|1694419].
This is a great "smaller" read on the Mary Phagan case. It is great for true crime fans. And if you ever want to see the ugliness of antisemitism the murder of Leo Frank is an example that resonates today.
The investigation begins with the African American "night watchman" that found Mary, but Newt Lee is eventually found to be innocent. Times are hard in Georgia at the time and as it turns out antisemitism is high because suddenly everyone turns their attention to the director of National Pencil Company, Leo Frank. Called a 'Yankee Jew' by many, Frank will be accused of murdering Mary. Several 'witnesses' even get on the stand and start accusing him of having inappropriate relationships with the young girls (including a suggestion that he enjoyed oral sex because, as a Jew with a circumcised penis, it was the only sexual pleasure he could find). The case gets a lot of attention and eventually a jury decided that Frank was guilty and sentenced him to hang. This was later commuted to life imprisonment (giving Frank a chance to appeal). But, a group of 'townies' including Judge Morris get together on August 17, 1915 and abduct Frank and then lynch him.
As you can imagine -- I am enraged because the lynch mob never saw any penalties for murdering Frank. That's right, I said murdering, because now in 2019 it seems pretty clear that Frank did not kill Mary. It makes much more sense that Jim Conley, a janitor at the factory, actually killed Mary. Many years later (almost 70?) a young boy admits that he saw Conley with Mary but was afraid to tell the truth. Several other authors have also taken a peek at the case and tend to agree Leo M. Frank was innocent. He was murdered because he was Jewish.
For further reading see: [b:And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank|1697440|And the Dead Shall Rise The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank|Steve Oney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439337670l/1697440._SX50_.jpg|1694419].
This is a great "smaller" read on the Mary Phagan case. It is great for true crime fans. And if you ever want to see the ugliness of antisemitism the murder of Leo Frank is an example that resonates today.