IN A recent interview with social media commentator Ryan Dawson, Mary Phagan-Kean shared powerful insights into the infamous 1913 murder of her great-aunt, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her interest in the case began unexpectedly when a teacher recognized her name and asked if she was related to the murdered girl. Her father explained the story to her, beginning her lifelong pursuit of truth and justice. He described Leo Frank, the man convicted of the murder, as a deeply immoral figure who had molested multiple young girls — and boys. Frank, who was president of the Atlanta chapter of B’nai B’rith — the organization that later founded the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — was even re-elected as president of the group after his conviction for murder.
When Georgia’s governor, who was a partner in the law firm that defended Frank, commuted Frank’s death sentence, a group known as the Vigilance Committee — composed of respected local citizens — took matters into their own hands. They lynched Frank, believing that justice had been denied and that they were carrying out the lawful sentence of the court which had been thwarted by a corrupt governor. Despite later claims, the so-called “Knights of Mary Phagan” never existed and were likely invented by the New York Times to smear the committee by falsely linking them, by the use of a similar name, to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
Frank’s lynching was also historically significant as the first carried out using automobiles, a rare sight in 1915 Marietta. This further indicated the involvement of influential community members, not a random mob.
The ADL has worked tirelessly for decades to clear Frank’s name, often using misleading tactics. For example, the pardon granted to Frank does not address his guilt or innocence, though some ADL narratives claim otherwise.
Mary Phagan-Kean explained that her father never focused on Frank’s religion — only on his disturbing behavior. Her grandfather, Mary Phagan’s brother, was haunted by the tragedy and visibly emotional when reminded of it. He saw a strong resemblance between his sister and Mary Phagan-Kean.
The case remains surrounded by controversy. Some have tried to portray Mary Phagan as a seducer, a suggestion Phagan-Kean strongly rejects. Jewish groups and officials even altered the wording on Mary’s historical marker — without informing her family — to falsely suggest that Frank had been exonerated. These changes were made secretly and at night, further clouding the historical record.
Rabbi Steven Lebow, a local Jewish leader, was a driving force behind the marker change, stating that the original wording, though absolutely truthful, was “offensive” to the Jewish community. Mary Phagan-Kean questions the defense of a man convicted of such a horrific crime.
During the 1960s, while Jewish writers Leonard Dinnerstein and Harry Golden were researching their books on the case, the trial transcript vanished, making it unavailable for review.
Despite the misinformation, Phagan-Kean sees hope in the efforts to digitize and publish all documents related to the case online. She encourages people to read these resources — including original newspaper reports and the Brief of Evidence — available at leofrank.info and leofrank.org. She also points out that the media at the time, often run by Jewish editors, generally supported Frank. Yet their courtroom reporting was mostly honest — and much of it totally contradicts today’s popular narrative that Frank was an “innocent victim of anti-Semitism.” (In fact, the grand jury that indicted him included four Jewish members, all of whom voted to charge him.)
Frank’s claim that he didn’t know Mary Phagan doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. He saw her daily, gave her weekly pay, and even suggested to police that another man, James Gantt, should be investigated for being “close to” Mary — revealing that Frank knew more than he admitted.
The ADL’s unrelenting campaign for Frank’s exoneration, according to Phagan-Kean, has ironically fueled the very anti-Semitism they say they are fighting.
Autopsy evidence confirms that Mary Phagan was sexually assaulted. She was strangled, had blood in her underwear — and her family confirmed she was not menstruating. Nonetheless, authors like Steven Oney have referred to her as a “voluptuous woman,” and Parade magazine once implied she had been “flirting” before her murder — suggestions that Phagan-Kean finds repugnant.
In the 1980s, a TV miniseries based on Harry Golden’s book and doubtful and contradictory claims from Alonzo Mann, was created without input from the Phagan family. This further distorted the case.
More recently, a “Conviction Integrity Unit” was established in Atlanta, allegedly to address all wrongful convictions. However, Mrs. Phagan-Kean believes it was formed mainly to push for Leo Frank’s exoneration — under pressure from Rabbi Lebow and powerful Jewish interests. The idea of retrying a century-old case, she argues, is highly unrealistic. How could such a prosecution, led by people who want to nullify the original prosecution, even proceed?
The claim that Frank’s case caused a mass exodus of Jews from the area is another myth, she says — and one that will be debunked (along with many such false claims and outright hoaxes) in the updated edition of her book, The Murder of Little Mary Phagan.
Mary Phagan-Kean continues to be guided by her father’s words: “The truth will always win.” That belief remains at the heart of her mission to bring clarity to one of America’s most controversial criminal cases.