PBS will air a documentary about the lynching of Leo Frank tonight. The People v. Leo Frank tells the story of the Jewish man sentenced to death, then commuted, then lynched for the 1913 murder of a thirteen year-old girl, Mary Phagan. The lynching was shocking, largely because the victim was white, but in many ways is is just another example of the way in which white southerners in the Jim Crow South violently enforced their own code of justice, especially against outsiders. (Governor John Slaton, who commuted Frank’s sentence to life in prison, was hanged in effigy above a sign reading, “King of the Jews.”)
Leo Frank
The lynching remains controversial to this day, with descendants of Frank and Phagan arguing over his guilt. CNN has that story. The lynching remains a point of contention, too, among crazy white supremacists. “Leo Frank” is the most popular google search of the last hour “(Mary Phagan” is twentieth). Looks like they’ll have a chance to proselytize.