200 oral statement of leo m frank

Leo M. Frank, defendant (unsworn statement for the defense), at the Trial of Leo Frank in the Fulton County Superior Court of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913 (Testimony Portion From July 28 - August 21, 1913; Closing Arguments August 21-25, 1913)
Leo M. Frank, the superintendent of the National Pencil Company and the defendant accused of murdering 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan, delivered a four-hour unsworn statement on August 18, 1913, during his trial. Under Georgia law at the time, defendants could make unsworn statements without facing cross-examination. In his detailed account, Frank outlined his personal background, education, and career, emphasizing his happy married life and responsibilities at the factory. He provided a minute-by-minute chronology of his activities on April 26, 1913 (the day of the murder), including his arrival at work, handling payroll, interactions with employees, and departure around 6:00 PM. Frank described encountering Mary Phagan briefly when she collected her pay envelope ($1.20) shortly after noon, after which he claimed she left his office and he heard her footsteps departing. He denied any involvement in her death, stating he had no knowledge of how she died or of Jim Conley's presence in the factory that day.
Frank explained his work on financial reports, invoices, and orders that afternoon, providing specifics on factory operations, such as pencil production, pricing, and inventory tracking. He refuted accusations of immorality, denying claims by witnesses like C.B. Dalton about bringing women to the factory for illicit purposes and dismissing Jim Conley's testimony as a "tissue of lies." He addressed other insinuations, including his alleged nervousness (attributing it to the shock of seeing Phagan's body), his wife's visits to him in custody, and his cooperation with detectives until he felt they were twisting his words. Frank also claimed credit for helping reveal that Conley could write, countering Conley's initial denials. He denied knowledge of any fund for his defense or wealthy relatives, insisting his family was of modest means. Throughout, Frank maintained his innocence, portraying himself as a diligent, honorable man wrongly accused.
This statement was a key part of the defense strategy, aiming to humanize Frank and explain discrepancies in timelines and evidence. Historical sources, including trial transcripts from the Georgia Archives, Famous Trials by Professor Douglas O. Linder, and leofrank.org, confirm the authenticity and content of this unsworn testimony, though interpretations of the case remain divisive due to allegations of antisemitism, media sensationalism, and judicial bias. For a balanced view, contemporary analyses (e.g., from the Anti-Defamation League and books like And the Dead Shall Rise by Steve Oney) highlight both the trial's flaws and the evidence presented against Frank.