Verdict Before the Trial

[Intro] A courtroom needs evidence A nation needs truth When prejudice enters Justice gets removed [Verse 1] Atlanta Georgia in nineteen thirteen A young worker named Mary Phagan was slain The public needed answers The city wanted blame Leo Frank managed The factory where she came A Jewish man from the North Made a target by his name Headlines drove suspicion Before the facts were weighed Antisemitism shaped How the story was portrayed Evidence brought questions Testimony changed But public anger pushed The trial toward a name Mary deserved justice Leo deserved it too A crime cannot be answered By convicting without truth [Chorus] They wrote the verdict Before the trial Turned one mans faith Into something to revile Truth got buried Under headlines and hate When the mob becomes the law Justice comes too late Say his name Leo Frank Let the record state A courtroom without fairness Can become a tool for hate [Verse 2] Frank was found guilty In a courtroom filled with strain The atmosphere outside Put pressure on the case Appeal after appeal Could not reopen the door But questions in the evidence Kept demanding something more Governor John Slaton Reviewed the record long Thousands of pages Made him doubt the judgment drawn In nineteen fifteen He changed the final fate Commuted the sentence From death to life in state The governor faced anger For challenging the crowd But justice needs a leader Who can think beyond the loud [Chorus] They wrote the verdict Before the trial Turned one mans faith Into something to revile Truth got buried Under headlines and hate When the mob becomes the law Justice comes too late Say his name Leo Frank Let the record state A courtroom without fairness Can become a tool for hate [Verse 3] The commutation landed But the hatred did not fade A mob removed him from prison And took his life away This was not justice No verdict from the law It was terror powered By the prejudice they saw His Jewish identity Had fueled the public rage Antisemitic rumors Had controlled the public stage The case helped awaken A response across the land Jewish organizations Took a stronger stand The Anti Defamation League Would challenge lies and hate The American Jewish Committee Worked to make protection great [Bridge] In nineteen eighty six A pardon came at last It did not declare innocence Or fully settle the past It recognized the state Had failed to guard his life And blocked his chance for justice Through another legal fight A pardon cannot give back What the mob took away But memory can warn us What prejudice can make [Final Chorus] They wrote the verdict Before the trial Turned one mans faith Into something to revile Truth got buried Under headlines and hate When the mob becomes the law Justice comes too late Say his name Leo Frank Let the record state A courtroom without fairness Can become a tool for hate Mary deserved justice Leo deserved it too Justice without fairness Can never lead to truth [Outro] Examine the evidence Question the claim Never let prejudice Decide who takes the blame