This video examines George Epps’ testimony as the second witness in the Leo Frank trial on July 28, 1913, at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia. Epps, a 14-year-old newsboy and friend of Mary Phagan, testified that he saw her at 11:50 AM on April 26, 2013, on an English Avenue car, heading to the National Pencil Company, where Leo Frank was superintendent, to collect her pay. They parted at 12:07 PM at Forsyth and Marietta Streets, two blocks from the factory, where she intended to go. This testimony placed Frank at the crime scene, as he admitted to seeing Mary, establishing his opportunity to commit the murder. Epps identified Mary’s hat and parasol, matching items found at the scene, linking her to the factory where her body was discovered, raped and strangled in the basement. The prosecution used Epps’ timeline to argue that Frank was the last to see Mary alive, directly implicating him in her murder before she could attend the parade she mentioned. The trial, per the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, ended with Frank’s conviction, his 1915 lynching, and the ADL’s founding. As of May 26, 2025, debates persist, with the Georgia Innocence Project seeking exoneration, opposed by Phagan’s family. X discussions highlight this divide, with some citing Alonzo Mann’s 1982 affidavit, while others affirm Frank’s guilt.
