Abduction and lynching of Frank
Abduction and lynching of Frank The June 21, 1915 commutation provoked Tom Watson into advocating Frank's lynching.[201] He wrote in The Jeffersonian and Watson's Magazine : "This country has nothing to fear from its rural communities. Lynch law is a good sign; it shows that a sense of justice lives among the people." A group of prominent men organized themselves into the "Vigilance Committee" and openly planned to kidnap Frank from prison. They consisted of 28 men with various skills: an electrician was to cut the prison wires, car mechanics were to keep the cars running, and there was a locksmith, a telephone man, a medic, a hangman, and a lay preacher. The ringleaders were well known locally but were not named publicly until June 2000, when a local librarian posted a list on the Web based on information compiled by Mary Phagan's great-niece, Mary Phagan Kean (b. 1953). The list included Joseph Mackey Brown, former governor of Georgia; Eugene