This video, part of The American Mercury’s centennial series, examines Reuben R. Arnold’s defense arguments in the 1913 Leo Frank trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta. Arnold, alongside Luther Rosser, claimed antisemitism tainted the trial. Drawing from the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, the video focuses on Arnold’s closing arguments on August 22–23, 1913, where he challenged the forensic evidence—blood and hair in the factory—as circumstantial and attacked Jim Conley’s testimony, alleging Conley was the murderer. Arnold argued the trial was prejudiced in the Jim Crow South, where Conley, a Black janitor, was believed over Frank, a white Jewish man, due to societal biases. He defended Frank’s character, calling the case a “frame-up.” Frank was convicted, lynched in 1915 after a commutation, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded. As of May 23, 2025, the case remains debated, with the Georgia Innocence Project seeking exoneration, opposed by Phagan’s family, who cite the trial record. X debates reflect this divide, with some referencing Alonzo Mann’s 1982 affidavit implicating Conley, while others affirm the verdict. The video frames Arnold’s defense as a critical examination of justice and prejudice.
