An Unspeakable Crime: the Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank, by Elaine Marie Alphin

Title: An Unspeakable Crime: the Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank

Author: Elaine Marie Alphin

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Year: 2010

# Pages: 152

Category: Required

Genre: Non-fiction

My Summary & Critique:

An Unspeakable Crime chronicles the search for justice in the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913. Her body was found in the basement of the pencil factory in which she worked on the day of a parade in honor of Confederate Memorial Day. The story received widespread press coverage as officers sought to lay blame for this heinous act, and Leo Frank, a “Yankee Jew” who was the factory superintendent, became the target of suspicion. He was arrested, indicted, convicted, and his case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but his sentence was eventually commuted by the governor of Georgia, believing him to be innocent, and he was to serve life in prison instead of death by hanging. Details about the case indicate that there was mishandling of evidence, failure of due process, witness credibility issues, and enormous sway of public opinion and bias affecting the outcome of the case. In the end, a group of prominent, respectable men carried out a carefully organized plan to honor the court’s original sentence of death by hanging, and Leo Frank was taken from his prison cell and lynched. A lifetime later, in 1986, witnesses came forward who supported Frank’s innocence and he was pardoned posthumously by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

This book made me angry. Angry at the judicial system for failing to live up to its proposed ideals; Angry at the witnesses, journalists, and investigators who were involved in researching, reporting, and trying this case; Angry at the 1913 public, so swayed by self-interest, popular opinion, and historical self-righteousness that they could not or would not be swayed by reason. I believe my anger is exactly what the author intended me to get out of this book. It is a story told with obvious bias, intended to inflame the reader with stories of injustice, racism, and anti-Semitism. Yet it is founded in fact and supported by documentation, so it is wholly believable. The details are punctuated by black and white photographs and supporting evidence, including court scenes, press headlines and articles, and gruesome souvenir photographs of the lynching. Annotated listings of the major figures in the case as well as source notes and bibliography are also included to help the reader. This book is powerful and gripping, sure to inspire heated discussion among readers. It would be an excellent choice for schools to consider adding to their curriculum content because it would provide a suitable companion to other classic works such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, in which a similar “witch hunt” is held. It could also provide valuable material for discussion on civic duties and the legal system, journalism ethics, or the dangers of repeating history. Students could draw similarities from the events and reactions of the public in this book to the public reactions to prominent trials of recent years. It is a remarkable text with powerful content for young adult and adult readers alike.