César Vidal

Content warning: this post quotes the wording of the notes found beside the body of a murdered 13 year old girl. From the Georgia Supreme Court record of the Leo M. Frank case, Slides 0716 and 0717 on MaryPhagan.com are pages 376 and 377 of the brief of evidence. Slide 0716 is the end of State's Exhibit J, the affidavit of Minola McKnight that began on yesterday's slide. Slide 0717 is State's Exhibit K, a sheet in Leo Max Frank's own handwriting. Mary Anne Phagan was murdered at the National Pencil Company on Saturday, April 26, 1913. Leo Max Frank, the superintendent, was convicted of her murder on August 25, 1913. The affidavit ends in questions and answers. Asked whether she had been told "not to say anything about what happened at home there," Minola McKnight answered "Yes sir." Asked, "And that's the reason you would rather have been locked up last night than tell?" she answered "Yes sir." Asked whether Mr. Pickett, Mr. Cravens, Mr. Campbell or the man asking the questions had "influenced you in any way or threatened you in any way to make this statement," she answered "No sir." She agreed that she made it "of your own free will and accord in their presence and in the presence of Mr. Gordon, your attorney." She signed it, and it was sworn on June 3, 1913. At the trial she said she signed it to get out of jail. Luther Z. Rosser tried to show that Detective John Starnes had kept her locked up and given her the third degree until she signed, as The Atlanta Georgian reported on August 20, 1913. E. H. Pickett and Roy Craven, of the Beck and Gregg Hardware Company, testified that she first denied the statements and then made them voluntarily, as The Atlanta Constitution reported the same day. On October 29, 1913, 113 years ago today, Rosser was still on the subject. Closing the defense argument for a new trial, he told Judge Leonard S. Roan that Starnes himself "should have been locked up" over the jailing of Minola McKnight. Her signed answers on this page say that no one threatened her and that her own lawyer was in the room. Slide 0717 is a photograph. The typed caption reads: "Specimen of Frank's handwriting made by Frank for the detectives at the police station." On the sheet, in Frank's hand, is the wording of the two notes found beside Mary's body. It is dated 4/29/13, three days after the murder, and carries initials in an oval that appear to read "J. N. S." The Atlanta Journal printed the first note on April 28, 1913, as: "He said he wood love me laid down like the night witch did it but that long tall black negro did by his sleb." Frank's copy reads "he said he would love me laid down pl... like the night which did it." Copying the note, Frank spelled "would" and "which." A month later, on May 28, 1913, detectives are said to have told Jim Conley, the factory sweeper, to write "night watchman." The Atlanta Constitution reported the next morning: "The result was 'night witch,' just as in the note found by the body of the murdered girl." Conley swore he wrote the notes at Frank's dictation. On August 21, 1913, The Atlanta Journal listed among the documents the state had put in evidence a "photograph of Frank's handwriting identified by his mother." In his closing argument, as The Atlanta Georgian printed it on August 24, 1913, Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey spoke of a defense witness who "could not identify Frank's handwriting that his own mother said was his." The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the conviction on February 17, 1914. Forever 13 and Never forgotten. #MaryPhagan #LeoFrank Appendix: Full slide transcript Slide 0716 not to say anything about what happened at home there? A. Yes sir. Q. Is that true? A. Yes sir. Q. And that's the reason you would rather have been locked up last night than tell? A. Yes sir. Q. Has Mr. Pickett or Mr. Cravens or Mr. Campbell or myself influenced you in any way or threatened you in any way to make this statement? A. No sir. Q. You make it of your own free will and accord in their presence and in the presence of Mr. Gordon, your attorney? A. Yes sir. (Signed) Minola McKnight. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 3rd day of June, 1913. (Signed) C. C. February, Notary Public, Fulton County, Ga. 376 Slide 0717 STATE'S EXHIBIT K. Specimen of Frank's handwriting made by Frank for the detectives at the police station. [Photograph of a handwritten sheet. An ellipsis marks a torn edge or a smudged word.] he said he would love me laid down pl... like the night which did it but that long tall black negro d... buy hisself Man that negro fire down here did that when I went to make water and he pushed me down a hole a long tall negro black that had it [Initials in an oval, which appear to read "J. N. S."] 4/29/13 377 References Georgia Supreme Court. (1913). State's Exhibit J, end of the affidavit of Minola McKnight, Slide 0716. Georgia Supreme Court Leo Frank Appeals Documents, 1913, 1914. Brief of evidence page 376 with her last answers, signature and the notary's jurat of June 3, 1913. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/0716-slide-ge… Georgia Supreme Court. (1913). State's Exhibit K, specimen of Frank's handwriting, Slide 0717. Georgia Supreme Court Leo Frank Appeals Documents, 1913, 1914. Brief of evidence page 377 with a photograph of the handwritten sheet dated 4/29/13. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/0717-slide-ge… Georgia Supreme Court. (1913). State's Exhibit J, affidavit of Minola McKnight, Slide 0715. Georgia Supreme Court Leo Frank Appeals Documents, 1913, 1914. Brief of evidence page 375 with the opening of the affidavit. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/0715-slide-ge… "Two maundering notes add mystery to crime." (1913, April 28). The Atlanta Journal, p. 2. The text of the two notes found beside Mary Phagan's body. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-04-28-pa… "Negro sweeper tells the story of murder notes." (1913, May 29). The Atlanta Constitution. Jim Conley's affidavit that he wrote the notes at Frank's dictation, and his writing of "night witch" when asked to write "night watchman." MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-05-29-ne… "State closes Frank case near jury; defense begins its sur-rubettual. Hopes to conclude quickly." (1913, August 20). The Atlanta Georgian. Rosser's cross-examination on the McKnight affidavit and the state's documentary evidence. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-08-20-st… "State is hard hit by judge ruling barring evidence attacking Frank." (1913, August 20). The Atlanta Constitution. Testimony of E. H. Pickett and Roy Craven on how the McKnight statement was made. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-08-20-st… "Reuben Arnold charges gigantic frame-up to convict Frank. Hooper says Conley's story stood test of grilling." (1913, August 21). The Atlanta Journal. The list of documents the state put in evidence, including the photograph of Frank's handwriting. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-08-21-ar… "Dorsey demands death penalty for Frank in thrilling closing plea." (1913, August 24). The Atlanta Georgian. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey's closing argument to the jury. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-08-24-do… "Negro's statement legal evidence, he says; state closes." (1913, October 29). The Atlanta Georgian. Luther Z. Rosser's closing argument for a new trial, including his remarks on Detective John Starnes and Minola McKnight. MaryPhagan.com. maryphagan.com/1913-10-29-ne…