394. Leo Frank and the Murder of Mary Phagan Part 2
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What is the background of the Leo Frank murder case and why is it significant?
The moment a body is found, the clock starts ticking. Forty eight hours before the trail goes cold. From AE and Crime House, this is the official podcast from the famous true crime series, The First 48. I'm Carter Roy. Every Thursday, I revisit a landmark homicide investigation in depth with long-form storytelling built for your ears. Listen to and follow the first 48 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
I'm Brett.
And I'm Alice.
And we are the prosecutors.
Today on The Prosecutors, we continue our look at the murder of Mary Fagan and the trial of Leo Frank.
Hello everybody and welcome to this episode of The Prosecutors. I'm Brett, and I'm joined as always by my jazzy co-host.
Alice.
I really
like that actually.
It's basically my entire childhood. Jazz hands.
Yeah. I mean this turned out from nineteen fifteen, which is pre jazz age, but
I like it. I like you trying to weave in a little history there. Yeah, you know. There's only so many times you can call me your murderous co host, so
that's true. That's a good point. That's a good point. So
you got so you gotta jazz it up a bit, shall we say?
Ah, there you go, Alice. That's why you're the best in the business. I
do what I can. I do what I can. But truly, talk about a case with Sparkle. Because last time it's it's already an interesting case in and of itself. But then you kind of throw in the historical significance and all that we're gonna continue to dive in today. I'd say this is jazz worthy.
I agree. Absolutely. It wouldn't you know this movies have been made about this. I don't know if there have any been any musicals or not, but you could do a musical. It's about time.
It's about time.
Yeah.
If I could just quit my job, that's what we're doing. A
musical about this case. You can choreograph the musical version of the Leo Frank case. It's pretty tragic. I don't know. It'd be tough. You'd have to like somehow Chicagoise it.
You ca I mean Chicago itself is a dark story.
It is a dark story. But they did it's a
song and dance.
That makes everything better. I mean Lay Memories is pretty dark.
Most most theater is actually pretty dark. Most of them are not Cats is dark. Cats is depressing. Like there you go. Literally dark. They're in an alley.
If you're out there and you're thinking about your next musical, maybe you can do the Leo Frank story. Murder of Mary Far Boy, do we have a story for you. And but
with
that. Oh, hold on.
I'm not gonna jump into it. I'm so sorry. Why do I like your criminal coffee shirt?
You like it? Yeah. Yeah, I like criminal coffee. They make really good coffee. It's kinda surprising how good the coffee is.
I mean I have faith in our friends.
Yeah.
I don't know if Derek actually grinding the coffee by hand during breaks in the show.
They're probably growing them and roasting them themselves. Probably. In between their YouTube shows.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Great show. Crime Weekly. In
between, instead of making coffee, we shall make a Broadway musical about murderer. About
the murder we're talking about today. The Leo Frank case. The first episode, we gave you some background on this case. The horrific murder of Mary Fagan really got into the prosecution's case against Leo Frank. And now we are turning to the star witness in the case, Jim Conley.
Jim Conley. You guys remember him? Remember he was interrogated multiple times, multiple affidavits, and then bam! the fourth or fifth affidavit, that's when they got the story the prosecution is going with. Now, because of that, it's no surprise that the entire case turned on Jim Conley. The state had little evidence showing that Frank was the one who killed Mary. So Jim Conley was either Frank's accomplice after the fact, or he was Mary's murderer. There really didn't seem to be a third possibility. Now, as you have seen from the long interrogation and shifting story of Jim Conley, Conley had serious issues. He'd given four affidavits about what happened that day, each one different. And the final affidavit was the best one for the state, and so that's the one they stopped at.
Now, in Conley's extensive pretrial preparation, and you have to do that if he's your star witness, this was the affidavit.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the background of the Leo Frank murder case and why is it significant?
0:01–8:23
2
How did Jim Conley’s multiple affidavits change the prosecution’s case?
8:23–19:21
3
Why does the prosecution view Conley’s testimony as the cornerstone of their theory?
19:21–30:14
4
What strategies did the defense use to challenge Conley’s statements?
30:14–39:55
5
How did character witnesses and racial dynamics influence the trial’s outcome?
39:55–50:41
6
What was the jury’s verdict and how did public sentiment react to it?
50:41–1:01:47
7
What happened after the trial – appeals, sentencing, and legacy?
1:01:47–1:11:01
8
What listener question is being answered and what are the final take‑aways?
1:11:01–1:20:29
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Prosecutors
Prosecutors After Dark: Costco
393. The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 20
392. Leo Frank and the Murder of Mary Phagan Part 1 of 3 -- The Devil Went Down to Georgia
391. The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 19 -- Jury Madness
390. The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 18 -- Verdict or Hung Jury
389. The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 17 -- The Closing Arguments