S. L. Asher, Sworn in as a Defense Witness, 200th to Testify

S. L. Asher, witness for the defendant in sur-rebuttal, at the Trial of Leo Frank in the Fulton County Superior Court of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913 (Testimony Portion From July 28 - August 21, 1913; Closing Arguments August 21-25, 1913)
S. L. Asher testified that approximately two weeks prior to his appearance in court, while riding a streetcar into town between 12:50 and 12:55 p.m., he overheard a man speaking loudly about the Leo Frank case. The man suddenly declared, "They ought to take that damn Jew out and hang him anyway." Asher recorded the man's streetcar number with the intention of reporting the antisemitic remark to authorities. On cross-examination, he acknowledged that he had not yet had an opportunity to file the report. This brief testimony was offered in sur-rebuttal to illustrate the atmosphere of public prejudice and antisemitism surrounding the trial.