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Lethal punishment: lynchings and legal executions in the South

Margaret Vandiver 2007, c2006 © Rutgers University Press
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  • 9780813537306 (E-Book)
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  • American: General & Multiperiod
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Table of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright and Permissions
  • List of Illustrations
    • Figures
    • Tables
  • Dedication
  • Preface and Acknowledgments to the Electronic Edition
  • Acknowledgments to the Print Edition
  • Introduction
    • [Introduction]
    • The Scope and Purpose of the Book
    • An Overview of the Book
  • Chapter 1 Legal and Extralegal Executions in the American South
    • An Overview of Lynching and Capital Punishment in the South
      • Definition of Lynching and Types of Mobs
      • Numbers and Regional Distribution of Lynchings and Executions
      • Demographics of Persons Lynched and Executed
    • Lynchings and Executions Compared
      • [Introduction]
      • Mass Lynchings and Public Executions
      • Trials Held under the Threat of Lynchings
      • Justifications for Lynchings and Legal Executions Compared
      • Lynching as a Crime
    • The Relationship between Lynchings and Executions
  • Chapter 2 Lethal Punishment in Tennessee and Florida
    • [Introduction]
    • Lynchings and Executions in Tennessee
      • Executions in Tennessee
      • Lynching in Tennessee
    • Lethal Punishment and Race Relations in Florida
      • [Introduction]
      • Executions in Florida
      • Lynching in Florida
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 3 Eleven Lynchings for Every Execution Lethal Punishment in Northwest Tennessee
    • [Introduction]
    • Patterns of Lethal Punishment in Northwest Tennessee
    • Cases of Lynching in Northwest Tennessee
      • [Introduction]
      • A Terrorist Lynching: The Trenton Massacre, Gibson County, 1874
      • A Mass Lynching for Murder: Garfield Burley and Curtis Brown, Dyer County, 1902
      • A Mass Lynching for Attempted Rape: George Smith, Obion County, 1931
    • Legal Executions in Northwest Tennessee
      • [Introduction]
      • Executions for Murder
      • Executions for Rape
    • A Lynching and an Execution: Louis Rice and Henderson House, Lauderdale County, 1900
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 4 "There Can Be Nothing but Death" Lethal Punishment for Rape in Shelby County, Tennessee
    • [Introduction]
    • Race Relations in Memphis
    • Crime and Criminal Justice in Memphis
    • An Overview of Executions and Lynchings in Shelby County, 1890-1930
    • Lynchings and Executions for Sexual Assault in Shelby County
      • [Introduction]
      • Lee Walker, Lynched 1893
      • Henry Johnson, Executed 1908
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 5 "The First Time a Charge Like This Has Ever Been Tried in the Courts" The End of Lynching in Marion County, Florida
    • [Introduction]
    • Marion County, Florida
    • Lynchings and Executions in Marion County
    • The Transitional Cases
      • [Introduction]
      • John Graham, Executed 1931
      • Lee Jacobs, Executed 1932
      • Will James, Convicted 1932
    • The Transition from Lynching to Execution in Marion County
  • Chapter 6 The Mob and the Law Mock Trials by Mobs and Sham Legal Trials
    • [Introduction]
    • Mock Trials: When the Mob Imitated the Law
      • [Introduction]
      • Fred King, Lynched 1901, Dyersburg, Tennessee
      • Lation Scott, Lynched 1917, Dyersburg, Tennessee
    • Sham Trials: When the Law Imitated the Mob
      • [Introduction]
      • Clarence Merriman and Will Hudson, Convicted 1917, Memphis
      • Henry Wilson, Executed 1902, Sumterville, Florida
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 7 "The First Duty of a Government" Lynching and the Fear of Anarchy
    • [Introduction]
    • Joseph Boxley, Lynched for Rape, Crockett County, 1929
    • Collective Violence in Tennessee
    • Calling Out the Troops: The Stineback Brothers, Lynched for Murder, Lake County, 1908
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 8 When the Mob Ruled The Lynching of Ell Persons
    • [Introduction]
    • "The Most Revolting Crime in the History of Shelby County": The Murder of Antoinette Rappel
    • "A Negro Capable of Committing Such a Crime": Ell Persons as a Suspect
    • Threats of Lynching: Law Enforcement Yields to the Mob
    • The Lynching
    • The Aftermath
      • Legal Developments
      • Local and Tennessee Reactions to the Lynching
      • National Protests
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 9 Prevented Lynchings White Intervention and Black Resistance
    • [Introduction]
    • Mobs That Did Not Lynch
    • Lynchings Prevented by White Intervention
      • Quick Action by Law Enforcement
      • Intervention by Whites Other than Law Enforcement
    • Lynchings Prevented by Black Resistance
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 10 "No Reason Why We Should Favor Lynching or Hanging" Efforts to End Legal and Extralegal Executions in Tennessee
    • [Introduction]
    • Opposition to the Death Penalty in Tennessee
      • [Introduction]
      • Duke C. Bowers and Tennessee's Brief Experiment with Abolition
      • Reinstatement of Capital Punishment
    • Opposition to Lynching
      • [Introduction]
      • Samuel Allen McElwee
      • Ida B. Wells-Barnett
      • Organizational Efforts to End Lynching
    • The Decline of Lynching in Tennessee
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 11 Conclusions
    • [Introduction]
    • Patterns in the Three Areas
    • Resemblances and Differences
    • Prevented Lynchings
    • Changes in the Execution of Death Sentences
    • Opposition to Lethal Punishment
    • The Limitations of Available Data
    • Areas for Further Research
    • Lynchings and Modern Executions
    • Memories
  • Appendix A: Sources and Methods
    • [Introduction]
    • Executions
      • Compiling an Inventory
      • Sources of Information
    • Lynchings
      • Compiling an Inventory
      • Sources of Information
    • Data on Executions and Lynchings Compared
  • Appendix B Inventory of Confirmed Lynchings and Legal Executions
  • Notes
    • Abbreviations
    • Introduction
    • Chapter 1 Legal and Extralegal Executions in the American South
    • Chapter 2 Lethal Punishment in Tennessee and Florida
    • Chapter 3 Eleven Lynchings for Every Execution
    • Chapter 4 "There Can Be Nothing but Death"
    • Chapter 5 "The First Time a Charge Like This Has Ever Been Tried in the Courts"
    • Chapter 6 The Mob and the Law
    • Chapter 7 "The First Duty of a Government"
    • Chapter 8 When the Mob Ruled
    • Chapter 9 Prevented Lynchings
    • Chapter 10 "No Reason Why We Should Favor Lynching or Hanging"
    • Chapter 11 Conclusions
    • Appendix A Sources and Methods
  • Bibliography
  • Index
    • A-G
    • H-O
    • P-Z
  • About the Author

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Tennessee State Prison, Nashville. Photo by author.

Tennessee State Prison, Nashville. Photo by author.

Figure 1. Tennessee State Prison, Nashville. Photo by author.

Figure 2 The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill changing the method of execution from hanging to electric chair, _Tennessee Public Acts_, 1913.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill changing the method of execution from hanging to electric chair, Tennessee Public Acts, 1913.

Figure 2

Photo from the Nashville Tennessean, November 24, 1944, p. 18.

James T. Scales.

Figure 3. James T. Scales.

Florida electric chair. Courtesy of the Florida Photographic Collection, State Archives of Florida.

Florida electric chair. Courtesy of the Florida Photographic Collection, State Archives of Florida.

Figure 4. Florida electric chair. Courtesy of the Florida Photographic Collection, State Archives of Florida.

Advertisement for Forrest and Maples, slave dealers. W. H. Rainey, Rainey's Memphis City Directory, 1855-56 (Memphis: H. B. Wolfkill, 1855-56).

Advertisement for Forrest and Maples, slave dealers. W. H. Rainey, Rainey's Memphis City Directory, 1855-56 (Memphis: H. B. Wolfkill, 1855-56).

Figure 5. Advertisement for Forrest and Maples, slave dealers. W. H. Rainey, Rainey's Memphis City Directory, 1855-56 (Memphis: H. B. Wolfkill, 1855-56).

Statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Forrest Park, Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by author.

Statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Forrest Park, Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by author.

Figure 6. Statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Forrest Park, Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by author.

Article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 23, 1907, p. 3. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 23, 1907, p. 3. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Figure 7. Article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 23, 1907, p. 3. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Figure 8 Map of northwest Tennessee, 1911. Courtesy of the Mississippi Valley Collection, University of Memphis Libraries.

Map of northwest Tennessee, 1911. Courtesy of the Mississippi Valley Collection, University of Memphis Libraries.

Figure 8

Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Article from the Memphis Daily Appeal, August 27, 1874, p. 4. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Article from the Memphis Daily Appeal, August 27, 1874, p. 4. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Figure 11. Article from the Memphis Daily Appeal, August 27, 1874, p. 4. Courtesy of the Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.

Cover, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 19, 1874.

Cover, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 19, 1874.

Figure 12. Cover, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, September 19, 1874.

Figure 13 Article from the _New York Times_, August 27, 1874, p. 5.

Article from the New York Times, August 27, 1874, p. 5.

Figure 13

Obion County Courthouse, Union City, Tennessee. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Obion County Courthouse, Union City, Tennessee. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Figure 14. Obion County Courthouse, Union City, Tennessee. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Figure 15 Death sentence for John Mitchell.

Death sentence for John Mitchell.

Figure 15

Headline, Nashville Tennessean and Nashville American, July 13, 1916, p. 9. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Headline, Nashville Tennessean and Nashville American, July 13, 1916, p. 9. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Figure 16. Headline, Nashville Tennessean and Nashville American, July 13, 1916, p. 9. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Julius Morgan. Photo from the Nashville Banner, July 13, 1916, p. 13. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Julius Morgan. Photo from the Nashville Banner, July 13, 1916, p. 13. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Figure 17. Julius Morgan. Photo from the Nashville Banner, July 13, 1916, p. 13. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Government Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.

Figure 18 Julius Morgan's statement. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Julius Morgan's statement. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Figure 18

Figure 19 Death sentence for Henderson House.

Death sentence for Henderson House.

Figure 19

Headline, Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 24, 1900, p. 2.

Headline, Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 24, 1900, p. 2.

Figure 20. Headline, Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 24, 1900, p. 2.

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