Documenting falsehoods about the 1913 murder of little Mary Phagan and the trial of Leo Frank by operatives of the Anti-Defamation League

Documenting falsehoods about the 1913 murder of little Mary Phagan and the trial of Leo Frank by operatives of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith continues in the digital age by Mary Frances Phagan Kean, June 25, 2025.

A sneak peek at the forthcoming 2025 second revised edition of the 1988 classic, best-selling, and iconoclastic book The Murder of Little Mary Phagan by Mary Phagan Kean. This new edition, coming 37 years later, will be significantly updated and will feature extensive hoax-busting material related to the academic fraud and falsification of history by Leo Frank's numerous cult-like defenders.

Debunking Abraham Foxman Herein: This brief preview addresses the myth of the so-called "Knights of Mary Phagan" and the false academic claim by numerous Jewish authors that defendant Leo Frank was falsely accused of murdering little Mary Phagan and convicted without evidence. These are among the many assertions made by longtime ADL leader Abraham Foxman (Emeritus) and repeated in tweets by ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt regarding the 1913 Mary Phagan murder trial. These claims also appear in many monographs written by Leo Frank's ethnoreligious advocates.

1. Claim: Leo Frank Was Falsely Accused and Convicted Without Evidence | Fact-check: False

A common post on X, shared by accounts from the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, and primarily Leo Frank's coreligionists, asserts that antisemitism was behind Leo Frank's trial. Anyone can search Jonathan Greenblatt’s X profile using the keyword "Leo Frank" to verify this pattern.

How the Police Came to Believe Leo Frank Was Guilty

On Sunday, April 27, 1913, Leo Frank went to the punch clock in his outer office and retrieved Newt Lee's official timeslip. He showed it to the police, who saw that the Black nightwatchman, Newt Lee, had correctly punched his timestamps every half hour on the evening of Saturday, April 26, and into the early morning of April 27.

Leo Frank Tried to Frame Two Black Employees

In a bizarre attempt to shift suspicion onto Newt Lee, Leo Frank destroyed Lee’s original timeslip on Monday, April 28, and forged a new one. The fabricated time card left four separate one-hour gaps unaccounted for, casting suspicion on Newt Lee and temporarily redirecting the investigation toward him.

Blood Soaked Shirt Planted to Frame Black Nightwatchman

Frank’s B’nai B’rith brother and attorney, Herbert Haas, pretended to cooperate by suggesting that the police investigate Leo Frank’s laundry at his home, knowing that no evidence would be found because enough time had passed to clean the garments thoroughly. This superficial act of transparency was actually a diversion, designed to make the police instead search Newt Lee’s laundry. There, police found a blood-soaked shirt that had been planted as false evidence. Investigators quickly determined that the bloodstains were staged.

Jim Conley, Accessory After the Fact, Sustains Leo Frank’s Racist Framing of Newt Lee

The death notes found beside Mary Phagan’s body at 3:40 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, were deciphered in mid-May 1913. Three weeks into the investigation, Jim Conley admitted that he had written the notes at Leo Frank’s direction to frame the Black nightwatchman, Newt Lee. The defense could not break down Conley's testimony after 14 hours of questioning.

Leo Frank was a Rapist-Pedophile

Ten Girls Testified to Leo Frank’s Sexual Misconduct
When asked about Leo Frank’s character for lasciviousness, ten girls testified that his reputation in this regard was bad. Their testimonies are documented in the Leo Frank trial’s brief of evidence.

At the coroner's inquest, factory girls testified that Leo Frank tried to get them to prostitute themselves.

Leo Frank Was Duly Convicted, Conviction Upheld

Leo Frank’s trial was the longest and most expensive in Georgia’s history at that time. The presiding judge was widely regarded as fair, reasonable, and highly conscientious in ensuring the law was upheld. Frank was represented by one of the most elite legal defense teams money could buy. More than one hundred witnesses testified for both the prosecution and defense, including multiple medical and forensic experts.

Leo Frank Admitted Being at the Crime Scene When the Prosecution Argued the Murder Occurred

The most incriminating witness at the trial was Leo Frank himself. While seated on the witness stand, Frank gave an oral statement in which he admitted that he had unconsciously gone to the crime scene at the exact time the prosecution contended Mary Phagan was murdered in the metal room.

The Supreme Court Sustains Leo Frank’s Conviction
The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the trial testimony for nearly a year. In its final ruling, the court stated clearly that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support a guilty verdict. No accusations of bias or injustice were ever made against the Georgia Supreme Court by Leo Frank’s multigenerational defenders.

A National Inquiry Into Leo Frank’s Legal Records Is Warranted:

In the interest of fairness and transparency, all attorneys, judges, and decision-makers in Georgia and the United States are encouraged to review Leo Frank’s appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court, along with the official trial brief of evidence.

2. Claim: Leo Frank Was Lynched by the “Knights of Mary Phagan” Because of Antisemitism | Fact-check: False

There is no dispute that extrajudicial execution is illegal, even in the case of a convicted murderer sentenced to death, if carried out without legal authority. However, assigning a false motive to the people involved ignores the reality that many prominent figures within Georgia’s government believed they were enforcing the death sentence that was lawfully imposed on August 26, 1913, by the jury and judge.

Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith Removes "B’nai B’rith" From Its Official Name Becoming ADL

Abraham Foxman, the longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from 1986 to 2015, oversaw the removal of “B’nai B’rith” from the ADL’s name following the posthumous pardon of Leo Frank. This has been interpreted as an effort to distance the ADL from its historical connection to B’nai B’rith Atlanta President Leo Frank.

In 1986, Leo Frank received a posthumous pardon that did not vacate or nullify his murder conviction. He was never officially exonerated by the state of Georgia.

Foxman’s claim that Leo Frank’s executioners identified themselves as the “Knights of Mary Phagan” is false. The group referred to themselves only as a vigilance committee. Their motivation was not religious hatred but a belief that they were enforcing the death sentence legally rendered by a jury of Frank’s peers.

Claims by Leo Frank’s defenders that the trial was based on antisemitism and lacked evidence are rooted in fabricated narratives. These assertions have been thoroughly refuted by both Jewish and Gentile forensic historians.

3. Claim: Mobs Were Shouting “H*ng the Jew” or “K*ll the Jew” During the Trial While Courtroom Windows Were Open | Fact-check: False

Teams of journalists were present inside and outside the courtroom. No press reports documented such incidents. None of Leo Frank’s appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court ever mentioned that mobs were shouting antisemitic death threats into the courtroom.

My family was present inside the courtroom, and our extended family and friends were outside. No one reported mobs shouting death threats at the jury or making antisemitic threats inside or outside the courtroom during the trial. Neither the judge, the jury, the prosecution, nor the defense ever asserted that such threats were made.

A Call for Government InquiryAs a family member of Mary Phagan, I want to emphasize that the trial of Leo Frank was conducted fairly and that there was no antisemitism involved in the case. The trial was extensively documented in the Atlanta press from late July through late August 1913. These newspaper reports, along with the official court records, provide a comprehensive account of the proceedings and will be published online in the coming weeks and months. Readers are encouraged to review these documents carefully to gain a thorough understanding of the case.

The Leo Frank case has been the subject of much discussion and debate over the years, but it is important to base our understanding on the facts presented during the trial. The evidence and testimony presented in court were carefully considered by the jury, and their decision was reached based on the merits of the case, not on any bias against Leo Frank's Jewish heritage.

We must remember that the focus of this case should be on seeking justice for Mary Phagan and ensuring that the legal process is respected. By examining the extensive documentation from the trial, it becomes clear that Leo Frank received a fair trial and that antisemitism played no role in the outcome.

I encourage everyone to stay tuned for the upcoming publication of the trial documents on X, as they will provide invaluable insights into the case. It is crucial that we approach this matter with an open mind and a commitment to the truth, rather than relying on misrepresentations or biased narratives.