| Hal Geiger | |
| State House: | Texas |
| District: | 27th |
| Term Start: | January 14, 1879 |
| Term End: | Jan 11, 1881 |
| Alongside: | J. D. Grant |
| Successor: | E. C. Mobley |
| Predecessor: | George U. Mead |
| Term Start1: | Apr 6, 1882 |
| Term End1: | Jan 9, 1883 |
| Alongside1: | J. D. Grant |
| Predecessor1: | E. C. Mobley |
| Successor1: | Robert Coleman Foster |
| Birth Date: | 1840 |
| Birth Place: | South Carolina, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Hearne, Texas, U.S. |
| Death Cause: | Gunshot wounds |
| Party: | Republican (before 1880) Greenback (after 1880) |
Harriel "Hal" G. Geiger (1840 – June 11, 1886)[1] was an American politician, blacksmith, and lawyer. Born into slavery in South Carolina, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a candidate for the Greenback Party. He served from January 1879 to January 1881. He lost his re-election campaign to E. C. Mobley but won the seat in a special election, after Geiger moved out of the district, and served from April 1882 until January 1883. He lost re-election in 1882 and was convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201. He was murdered by a judge for being insolent. Geiger and Robert A. Kerr were the only African-Americans to be elected into the Texas Legislature as representatives for the Greenback Party.[2]
Geiger was also a candidate for sheriff of Robertson County, Texas in 1884. He was murdered, shot 5 times at point blank range, by Judge O. D. Cannon for making "insolent" remarks and not showing enough deference to his honor. Geiger survived for a while before eventually succumbing to his wounds. A trial was held and the jury cleared Cannon after a brief deliberation.[3] [4] Judge Cannon was convicted of murdering another unarmed lawyer, one of his neighbors, in 1899.[5]
Geiger is described as having had one eye.[6] He opposed the poll tax and criticized the convict lease system.[4]