Episode 26: The murder of Mary Phagan

On Sunday, April 27, 1913 just a little after 3 a.m., an African American night watchman named Newt Lee was making his rounds. After feeling a call to nature, he went into the basement to use the negro restroom. Keep in mind that during this time, Negroes and whites had separate restrooms and drinking fountains. It was a time when segregation and racism were considered normal.

Lee would find the deceased body of a 13-year-old teenager named Mary Phagan. Someone had assaulted, robbed and killed the young girl. This case would become one of the most sensational cases in the history of Atlanta. It involved anti-semitism, violence, vigilante justice, and a horrific ending for the alleged killer. Today the case is still discussed and it's believed that an innocent man paid the ultimate price for a crime he likely didn't commit.

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