T. Y. Brent, sworn in as a witness for the defense, the 196th to testify.

T. Y. Brent, 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)

T. Y. Brent testified that he had heard streetcar conductor George Kendley repeatedly express virulent hostility toward Leo Frank. Kendley compared the Frank case to the lynching of two Black men in Decatur, stating he didn’t know if they were guilty but “somebody had to be hung” for the streetcar murders and “it was just as good to hang one nigger as another.” He called Frank “nothing but an old Jew” and said “they ought to take him out and hang him anyhow.” On cross-examination, Brent admitted he had been hired by the defense to assist in subpoenaing witnesses and had portrayed Jim Conley in a defense-conducted experiment at the factory on a Sunday, supervised by Dr. William Owens. This testimony further illustrated the depth of antisemitic and vigilante sentiment among potential jurors and the public, while the cross-examination sought to impeach Brent’s credibility by revealing his paid role with the defense.