Chapter Seven - The Commutation - The Murder Of Little Mary Phagan, 1989 - Read By Vanessa Neubauer In 2015

This is the seventh installment in a 13-part series of audiobooks from the "The Murder of Little Mary Phagan" book by Mary Phagan-Kean. John Marshall Slaton, the governor of Georgia, had been grappling with the idea of commutation of Leo Frank's sentence since June 1915. He received over 100,000 letters favoring commutation or pardon for Frank and the Georgia case, and the national press reminded him of his power of pardon and responsibility to use it. Newspapers throughout the country supported the request for Frank's pardon, but many Georgians and Atlanteans resisted this renewed intrusion into an affair they felt justice had been done.

When the Supreme Court rejected Frank's plea in April 1915, his lawyers began working for executive clemency. They believed that Frank's chances for commutation were better with the incumbent governor, John Marshall Slaton, than with his successor, Nat Harris. Judge Morris, through the Cobb Democratic Executive Committee, alleged that Slaton was a member of the law firm defending Frank. The Cobb Democratic Executive Committee publicly called on Slaton to resign as governor or assure Georgians he would not commute Frank's sentence.

Slaton declined to do either, and Frank was scheduled to hang on June 22, 1915. Slaton requested the Supreme Court ruling on the question of mob influence at the trial and researched the official judgments of other appellate courts while trying to reach a balance between Georgia's judiciary integrity and mob rule.

During the Frank case, Slaton spent a great deal of time and attention studying the elevator, which led to much of the best evidence for Frank. He shut himself in his library for the entire day on June 20, 1915, working on the Frank case. On June 21, Slaton announced that he had ordered the sentence commuted, and his wife stayed awake waiting for him. Tune-in to find out how the commutation was cancelled and the original sentence (execution for manslaughter) was implemented upon Leo Frank.

Seeking Justice for Little Mary Phagan
https://www.LittleMaryPhagan.com

Please purchase the book, 'The Murder of Little Mary Phagan by Mary Frances Phagan Kean' to learn more about the Leo Frank case.