Jim Conley

American janitor

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July 21, 2026

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Jim Conley was an African American janitor at the National Pencil Company. He became a key, albeit controversial, witness in the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, an American factory superintendent accused of murdering Mary Phagan. Conley's testimony, which evolved through multiple affidavits, formed the basis of the prosecution's case against Frank. Many contend that Conley himself committed the crime. Despite inconsistencies and doubts about his testimony, the jury found Frank guilty. Conley's role in the trial and its aftermath, which included the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and the formation of the Anti-Defamation League, significantly impacted American history.1

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Leo Frank
…Frank on coached testimony of Jim Conley, an African American janitor at the National Pencil Company who many contend committed the crime. Conley’s four affidavits—each new statement renouncing the last—developed the elaborate and, by all accounts, improbable story of his participation in a crime he attributed to Frank. Most of…
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…Frank on coached testimony of Jim Conley, an African American janitor at the National Pencil Company who many contend committed the crime. Conley’s four affidavits—each new statement renouncing the last—developed the elaborate and, by all accounts, improbable story of his participation in a crime he attributed to Frank. Most of…
Read More