This is a list of lynching victims in the United States. While the definition has changed over time, lynching is often defined as the summary execution of one or more persons without due process of law by a group of people organized internally and not authorized by a legitimate government. Lynchers may claim to be issuing punishment for an alleged crime; however, they are not a judicial body nor deputized by one. Lynchings in the United States rose in number after the American Civil War in the late 19th century, following the emancipation of slaves; they declined in the 1920s. Nearly 3,500 African Americans and 1,300 whites were lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968.[1] Most lynchings were of African-American men in the Southern United States, but women were also lynched. More than 73 percent of lynchings in the post–Civil War period occurred in the Southern states.[2] White lynchings of black people also occurred in the Midwestern United States and the Border States, especially during the 20th-century Great Migration of black people out of the Southern United States. The purpose for many of the lynchings was to enforce white supremacy and intimidate black people through racial terrorism.[3]
According to Ida B. Wells and the Tuskegee University, most lynching victims were accused of murder or attempted murder. Rape or attempted rape was the second most common accusation; such accusations were often pretexts for lynching black people who violated Jim Crow etiquette or engaged in economic competition with white people. Sociologist Arthur F. Raper investigated one hundred lynchings during the 1930s and estimated that approximately one-third of the victims were falsely accused.[4] [5]
On a per capita basis, lynchings were also common in California and the Old West, especially of Latinos, although they represented less than 10% of the national total. Native Americans, Asian Americans and Italian-Americans[6] [7] were also lynched.[8] Other ethnicities, including Finnish-Americans[9] and German-Americans[10] were also lynched occasionally. At least six law officers were killed trying to stop lynch mobs, three of whom succeeded at the cost of their own lives, including Deputy Sheriff Samuel Joseph Lewis in 1882,[11] and two law officers in 1915 in South Carolina.[12] Three law officers were themselves hanged by lynch mobs (Henry Plummer in 1864; James Murray in 1897; Carl Etherington in 1910).
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | African-American | Missouri | 1836 | Arrested on charge of disturbing the peace, McIntosh stabbed the deputies who told him he would serve five years for the offense. | Burned alive. Lynching had broad local support. Reported on by abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy, who was soon lynched himself. | |||||
35 | White | Illinois | 1837 | Abolitionist newspaper editor and publisher | Had moved to Alton to escape violence in St. Louis. Four successive printing presses destroyed. "Not guilty" verdict; jury foreman member of mob.[13] | |||||
38, 44 | White | Illinois | 1844 | Technically, treason against state of Illinois, but lynching was for religious views, especially plural marriage/polygamy. | In jail awaiting trial. Five men were tried and acquitted. | |||||
Tucker, John | 40-50 | African American | 1845 | Unprovoked attack | [14] | |||||
Adult | Latina | California | 1851 | Killing a white man | She was found guilty of murdering a local miner, Frederick Cannon, a man who had attempted to assault her after he had broken into her home.[15] | |||||
Adult | White | May 1852 | Killing of J.C. Platt[16] | Lynched by miners who appointed a “committee”,[17] via “mob law."[18] | ||||||
Capistrano, Lopez; Hernández, Mariano; and Hernandez, Domingo | Adults | Latino | California | 1852 | Killing and robbing of Americans, including Latinos[19] | [20] Band of Mexican horse thieves and murderers, who "tormented the central coast", frequently boasted of killing and robbing Americans.[21] They were taken by vigilantes out of jail and hanged from a makeshift gallows | ||||
Thomas, David | 34 | African-American | Denton | Maryland | 1854 | Beating a white man to death | [22] | |||
Thompson, Bill Saul; Despano, Sloan | African-American | Greensburg | Kentucky | 1858 | Alleged murder and robbery of wealthy white farmer, "Mr. Simpson." | Thompson and Despano were two of four men jailed for allegedly murdering a Mr. Simpson. A mob broke into the jail which was abandoned by the jailor. To avoid lynching, one of the four, Elias Scraggs, slit his own throat. Thompson and Despano were taken by the mob and hanged from a tree. After seeing Scraggs, Thompson and Despano die, a fourth man after "a good deal of reluctance" avoided lynching by implicating five others, including Simpson's own son-in-law, though the son-in-law was "generally considered innocent."[23] | ||||
Adam | African-American | Tampa | Florida | 1859 | In response to the murder of a white man, and "in keeping with local custom, a slave man was selected to be killed in retribution". | Adam was tried and convicted of the murder of a white man. He was represented by Ossian Hart, who appealed the conviction. The Florida State Supreme Court declared a mistrial, following which a mob broke into the jail, seized Adam and hanged him.[24] | ||||
23 | African-American | Wisconsin | 1861 | Allegedly exchanged insults and blows with two Irishmen who accused him and a friend of bothering two white women on the street. | Hanged from a pile driver by a crowd of fifty to seventy-five Irishmen. | |||||
Hamilton, Jacob | 28 | African-American | Smyrna | Kent and New Castle | Delaware | 1861 | Believed to have assaulted a white woman in her home. | While a trial was in progress, preparations to lynch the victim were made outside. When constables walked out with Hamilton, the crowd seized and hanged him.[25] | ||
Adult men | White | Gainesville | Cooke | Texas | 1862 | Lynching, plus "legal" executions, of Union supporters by Confederate supporters | Many lynched before trial was concluded. Prosecution of perpetrators "half-hearted"; only one convicted.[26] [27] | |||
Wilson, Jim | African-American | Oakland | Maryland | 1862 | Rape and murder of an eight year old white girl | |||||
African-American | Newburgh | New York | 1863 | Alleged rape of Irish woman | Hanged from a tree by mob of Irishmen | |||||
31 | White | 1864 | Alleged leader of an outlaw gang. | A sheriff who was dragged from his house and lynched; the only evidence of his alleged crimes was in an account written by a lynch mob member to justify lynching; 130 years later Plummer was posthumously tried; the jury reached a split decision (six to six) and a mistrial was declared.[28] | ||||||
Campbell, John (Jack) | Mixed race (White/Dakota)[29] | Minnesota | 1865 | Double murder | Lynched by a mob after an extrajudicial "trial".[30] | |||||
Taylor, John | 17 | African-American | Michigan | 1866 | Attempted murder of his employer's wife following a wage dispute | Taylor was a former slave, and had been a teenage soldier for the Union. A mob dragged him from a jail, tortured him and hanged him from a tree, and mutilated and decapitated his body; no one was prosecuted. In 2018, a local park was named the "John Taylor Memorial Park" after him.[31] | ||||
unknown | White | Iowa | June 1866 | Horse theft | Thompson was arrested by the county sheriff based on evidence collected by a local vigilance committee, then tried in an extrajudicial jury proceeding and hanged.[32] | |||||
34 | African-American | Utah | December 10, 1866 | Walking with a White woman | Coleman, formerly enslaved by White Mormon people, was bludgeoned to death by an unknown number of assailants. His throat was deeply slit and body dumped with a note pinned to his chest stating "Notice to all niggers! Take warning | Leave white women alone | !"[33] [34] | |||
Pippin, James | unknown | White | Church Hill or Centerville | Queen Anne's | Maryland | 1867 | Tried for killing a merchant, but acquitted. | Angry about Pippin's acquittal, a mob of 20 people dragged him from under the floorboards of his father's house and hanged him.[35] [36] | ||
McLain, Tom | unknown | African-American | Mississippi | 1868 | Alleged murder of white overseer. | A masked mob broke into the jail cell with sledge hammers, dragged McLain and Gilbert Quinn from the jail and hanged both from a gum tree with the same rope.[37] [38] | ||||
Quinn, Gilbert | unknown | African-American | Mississippi | 1868 | Alleged accomplice to murder of white overseer. | A masked mob broke into the jail cell with sledge hammers, dragged Quinn and Tom McLain from the jail and hanged both from a gum tree with the same rope. | ||||
Bierfield, Samuel, Bowman, Lawrence | Jewish-American, African-American | Tennessee | 1868 | None | A group of masked men appeared at both the rear and front doors of Samuel Bierfield's store. When he refused to open the back door, they broke in. He ran out the front, where he encountered the rest of the group. The masked men shot Bierfield five times. They mortally wounded his black clerk Lawrence Bowman, who had been with him at the store. Henry Morton, another black man, had been sitting and chatting with the pair and escaped without injury during the melee. Bierfield pleaded for his life on the street in front of his dry goods store but was shot to death by the masked men at close range. | |||||
Moore, Isaac | unknown | African-American | Bel Air | Harford | Maryland | 1868 | Robbing a white woman of a sum of money. | Moore was accused of having other "nepharious designs" not carried out after he was frightened away by the screams of the woman from whom he allegedly took money. Moore was before a magistrate when a crowd took him away and hanged him naked from a tree. | ||
Juricks, Thomas | 35 (approx.) | African-American | Piscataway | Prince George's | Maryland | 1869 | Assault of a white woman | Sharecropper and father of six, Juricks was "hung from an oak tree before the mob fired a volley of gunshots into his body".[39] | ||
Quinn, Jim | unknown | African-American | Jarrettsville | Harford | Maryland | 1869 | Assaulting a white woman | [40] [41] | ||
Two Mexicans | Latino | New Mexico | 1870 | Stealing groceries | A group of masked men had taken the two Mexicans during the night, hanging them from a beam in the jail yard.[42] | |||||
49–50 | African-American | North Carolina | 1870 | Prominent local figure (no crime alleged) | Sixty-three indictments, but the North Carolina Legislature, to end their cases, repealed the law they were charged with violating.[43] | |||||
35 | White | North Carolina | 1870 | State senator who worked to help freedmen | Ku Klux Klan; no one charged. | |||||
Johnson, Offey | African-American | Louisiana | March 31, 1870 | None. A witness in protective custody. | Johnson was held in protective custody at jail so he could testify against a prisoner in jail named Beavers. Sheriff John H. Wisner killed by mob who then killed prisoner[44] It is believed Johnson was killed so that he could not testify against Beavers.[45] | |||||
Compton, J.L. and Wilson, Joseph | April 30, 1870 | Accused of murder | A one-thousand-member vigilance committee accused the two men of shooting and robbing an old man named George Lenhart. Their fate was decided on the courthouse steps by mock trial, because "the law was tedious, expensive, and uncertain." When law officers interrupted the proceedings, they were imprisoned by the mob.[46] | |||||||
Ah Wing and at least 15 others | Chinese | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | California | 1871 | None | Group of Chinese immigrants killed in retaliation for the accidental homicide of a white rancher.See: Chinese massacre of 1871 | |||
Johnson, George; Taylor, Squire; Davis, Charles | Adults | African American | Indiana | November 1871 | Accused of killing a white man, Cyrus Park, and his family | Indiana Legislature Exonerated Johnson, Taylor, and Davis in 2022[47] | ||||
African-American | Tennessee | 1872 | Murdering Henry Murray. | Taken out of his prison cell and lynched by a mob on the public square.[48] [49] | ||||||
Castro, José | 35 | Latino | San Juan Bautista | California | 1872 | Alleged conspiracy to rob a stage coach. | After Tiburcio Vásquez robbed a stage on the San Benito Road, a group of vigilantes seized José Castro, a local saloon owner, and hanged him from a tree based on the flimsy suspicion that he was associated with the bandit.[50] | |||
McCrory, James | White | Visalia | California | 1872 | Murder | A group of vigilantes broke into the jail, seized McCrory and hanged him from a bridge.[51] | ||||
30s | white | November 4, 1872 | Sexual indecency | Man dies from castration after being tarred and feathered by a mob[52] | ||||||
St. Clair, John W. and Triplett, Z.A. | unknown | white | February 1, 1873 | Both individuals charged with separate murders | Both men hanged[53] | |||||
Chiesa, Giovanni | 20 | Italian | Church Hill | Trumbull | Ohio | July 27, 1873 | None | Giovanni Chiesa, the first Italian immigrant lynched in the United States, was clubbed to death by a mob of coal miners.[54] [55] | ||
Eli. | African-American | Florida | May 1874 | Assaulting a white woman | Killed when Jail burned down by mob; according to a member of mob participant John Wesley Hardin, the local coroner (also allegedly part of the mob) rendered a verdict that Eli had died after setting fire to the jail himself,[56] | |||||
Taylor, Rufus P. "Scrap"; Tuggle, John Alfred "Kute"; and White, James | White | Clinton, Texas | Texas | June 22, 1874 | Three men were members of the Taylor faction in the Sutton-Taylor feud. Members of the Sutton faction lynched the three men in revenge for murder of Sutton leader William E Sutton in Indianola, Texas on March 22, 1874 | |||||
Randolph, John | African-American | Arkansas | 1875 | Lynched after allegedly confessing to murder of white man[57] | ||||||
African-American | Tennessee | 1875 | Killing a police officer | Taken out of his jail cell by an unmasked mob and hanged on a suspension bridge.[58] | ||||||
Simms, John | African-American | Maryland | 1875 | Alleged assault of Adaline Jackson. | Simms was shackled and in jail when a mob searched the jailor for his keys and took Simms away, irons and all, and hanged him from a tree. “Many of the lynchers were painted black and some were masked.”. | |||||
Keemer, William | 23 | African American | Greenfield | Indiana | June 26, 1875 | Accused of sexually assaulting a white woman | State Historical Marker to be Installed in 2022[59] | |||
Arias, Francisco and Chamales, José | Latino | Santa Cruz | California | May 2, 1877 | Murder of a man named Henry De Forrest | Broken out of jail by a mob and hanged from a tree.[60] | ||||
Arajo, Justin | Latino | San Juan Bautista | California | July 1877 | Shooting a man named Manuel Butron | Broken out of jail by a disguised mob and hanged from a willow tree.[61] | ||||
Garnett, Simeon | African-American | Oxford, Ohio | Ohio | September 1877 | Assaulting a white woman. | Taken from jail and shot[62] | ||||
Green, Michael[63] | African-American | Maryland | 1878 | Arrested for assaulting Miss Alice Sweeny on August 26, 1878 | Green was being held at the jail in Upper Marlboro. Threats of lynching were openly made and were held off by the vigilance of Sheriff James N.W. Wilson. On September 1, 1878, a band of masked men removed Green from the jail and took him a mile outside of town to the corner of Queen Anne's Road and Hills Lane. There a noose was placed around his neck and he was hanged 15 feet in the air from a cherry tree. His body remained dangling from the tree and was observed the next morning. | |||||
White | December 15, 1878 | Armed robbery and murder | Two of the five Horrell Brothers, outlaw brothers best known for their involvement in the Horrell–Higgins feud. While awaiting trial for robbery and murder in Texas, they were shot to death by a mob of armed vigilantes who stormed the jail. | |||||||
Ketchum, Ami "Whit"; and Mitchell, Luther H. | Nebraska | December 10, 1878 | Livestock theft and murder of a posse member | Taken from the custody of the county sheriff and burned alive.[64] | ||||||
Seven men | African-American | Indiana | 1878 | Accused of rape | Largest recorded lynching in Indiana. No one was ever indicted. | |||||
13–14 | African-American | Alabama | 1879 | Alleged assault and rape of a white woman | Accused of assaulting and raping Mrs. Moses Ables, Easley was taken by force from the jail and lynched during the day within the city limits of Jacksonville.[65] | |||||
Gilmer, Bill | African-American | Tennessee | 1879 | Shot attorney Thomas J. Wood | Shot. Gilmer was accused of shooting Wood, who had whipped Gilmer for using offensive language near his wife.[66] [67] | |||||
African-American | Mississippi | 1879 | Arson | [68] | ||||||
African-American | Mississippi | 1879 | Arson | [69] | ||||||
29 (Frost), 19 (Gibson and McCracken) | White | September 4, 1879 | Theft of a saddle and harness | Local petty thieves accused without evidence of stealing a saddle and harness. Kidnapped from jail and hanged by 30 members of the local Masonic Temple. | ||||||
Peck, George Washington | African-American | Poolesville | Montgomery | Maryland | 1880 | Accused of assaulting a white girl | Taken by a mob and hanged from a tree before he could be transported to Rockville for a trial.[70] [71] [72] | |||
House, T.J.; West, James; Dorsey, John | White | 1880 | Murder of Marshal Joe Carson | Accused of murdering a U.S. marshal during the Variety Hall shootout. Hanged by a mob. | ||||||
Ramírez Refugio, Ramirez Wife, María Ines (daughter) | Latino | Texas | May 1, 1880 | Accused of bewitching their neighbors. | All three were burned to death[73] | |||||
Johnson, Jim | African-American | Pine Bluff | Jefferson | Arkansas | December 24, 1881 | Threatening several men with a shotgun. | After being hit on the head with a pistol by Thomas Barksdell, Johnson retaliated by threatening several people with a shotgun and allegedly preventing a doctor from reaching a woman who was in labor.[74] | |||
Three Mexicans | Latino | New Mexico | 1881 | Murder of James Little | A mob took the three Mexicans and hanged them from a tree[75] | |||||
Shorter, Josh | African-American | Alabama | June 1881 | Harassing a white girl | ||||||
African-American | Missouri | 1882 | Killing a police officer | Newspapers reported he was innocent, but no one was held accountable for the lynching.[76] [77] [78] [79] | ||||||
McManus, Frank | White | Minneapolis | Hennepin | Minnesota | April 19, 1882 | Raping a four-year-old child | Taken from jail and lynched[80] | |||
Mentzel, Gus | Colfax | New Mexico | June 27, 1882 | Resisting arrest; killing three citizens and wounding two | Deputy Sheriff William A Bergin was either mortally wounded by suspect[81] or was killed by mob who then killed prisoner[82] [83] | |||||
Francisco Tafoya aka "Navajo Frank" | Native American | New Mexico | June 29, 1882 | Lassoing and dragging a citizen | Taken from jail and lynched on telephone pole in railyard.[84] [85] [86] | |||||
Agirer, Augustin | Latino | Texas | 1882 | Filing a complaint against a white man | Mr. Agirer had filed a complaint after one of the Anglo men had shot at his dog. In retaliation, the Anglos tracked Mr. Agirer down and fatally shot him in front of his wife[87] | |||||
African-American | Grand Forks | Oct 24, 1882 | Assaulting and raping two white women | Taken from law officers in jail and lynched from a bridge[88] | ||||||
García, Encarnción | Latino | Los Gatos | California | 1883 | Murder | Encarnación García was a nephew of the bandido Tiburcio Vásquez. He was arrested for stabbing another man to death following a card game at the Los Gatos Saloon. A mob broke into the jail, seized García and hanged him from the Los Gatos Creek bridge.[89] [90] | ||||
Green, James and Ingraham, Fred | White | Nebraska | April 3, 1883 | Robbery and murder of a shopkeeper | Accused of the robbery and murder of Cassius Millet, a mob forcibly took the pair from the jail and hanged them from a bridge.[91] | |||||
35 | Black | Utah | August 25, 1883 | Alleged murder of White police chief | After police severely kicked and beat him they handed him over to a White mob of up to 2,000 people who hung Harvey in front of the city jail then dragged his body down the main city street.[92] [93] | |||||
28 | White | Cochise | 1884 | Accessory to robbery | Mob unsatisfied with lenient sentence | |||||
Weinberger, Martin | Jewish-American | Pennsylvania | 1884 | Murder | Hanged in County Jail yard[94] | |||||
Conorly, Huie | 16 | African-American | Louisiana | 1884 | Attempted rape | A mob of 10 to 15 men broke into the jail, seized Conorly and hanged him on the jail steps.[95] | ||||
Briscoe, George | 40 | African-American | On a rural road | Maryland | 1884 | Alleged robbery of the residence of George Schievenent. | “[A]sked the magistrate with an oath what right he had to commit him to jail?” angering the crowd. Hung by “a large party” of masked men. | |||
McChristian, Perry | White | Grenada | Mississippi | 1885 | Murder of white peddler | [96] | ||||
Williams, Felix | White | Mississippi | 1885 | Murder of white peddler | ||||||
James, Bartley | African-American | Mississippi | 1885 | Suspicion of murder of white peddler | ||||||
Campbell, John | African-American | Mississippi | 1885 | Suspicion of murder of white peddler | ||||||
Cook, Townsend | 21 | African-American | Westminster | Carroll | Maryland | 1885 | Assaulting a white woman | [97] | ||
Jackson, Lizzie; Jackson, Andy; Hayes, Frank; Norman, Joe; Rogers, Willie | African-American | Elkhart | Anderson | Texas | 1885 | Rape and murder of a white woman | [98] | |||
Cooper, Howard[99] | 15–17 | African-American | Towson | Baltimore | Maryland | 1885 | Assaulting a white woman | Convicted of assault and rape after one minute deliberation, his attorneys intended to file an appeal; 75 masked men broke Cooper out of jail and hanged him from a tree.[100] | ||
35 | White | Connecticut | 1886 | Allegedly murdered a 16-year-old girl | Found hanged from a tree three days later. Public opinion divided on whether Lockwood committed suicide or was lynched. Coroner's jury returned a verdict of suicide.[101] | |||||
66 | African-American | New Jersey | 1886 | Rape of a white woman | All suspects acquitted.[102] [103] | |||||
Woods, Eliza | "Colored" | Tennessee | 1886 | Supposedly poisoning her employer. | Taken from the county jail, stripped naked, hanged in the courthouse yard and her body riddled with bullets and left exposed to view.[104] | |||||
Johnson, David | 50 | African-American | Maryland | 1886 | Alleged murder of Edward White. | Hanged by a mob. Newspaper accounts describe Johnson as troubled with “religious mania” and regarded as insane.[105] | ||||
Whitley, Charles | 18 | African-American | Prince Frederick | Maryland | 1886 | Alleged assault of five-year-old child. | A mob of 35–40 heavily armed men broke into the jail, seized Whitley and hanged him from a tree about a mile and a half away. | |||
Villarosa, Federico (Francesco Valoto) | Italian | Mississippi | 1886 | Attempted rape of a 10-year-old white girl | Hanged from a tree by a mob despite the efforts of the sheriff and state militia.[106] | |||||
Waldrop, Manse | White | South Carolina | 1887 | Raping and killing a 14 year old African-American girl | One of various unique incidents in which a white person is lynched by African-Americans | |||||
McCutchen, Frank | Latino | California | 1887 | Arson | Fires had been appearing around Oakdale and McCutchen had allegedly been caught in the act of setting fire to a barn. McCutchen was arrested and while being transferred to Modesto jail, a mob overpowered the constable and hanged McCutchen from a tree.[107] | |||||
Salazar, Santos | Latino | Texas | 1888 | Murdering a white man | Jake Stafford was found dead two miles away from the road he was on; one of the main suspects of murdering Mr. Stafford was Mexican-American Salazar Santos. When the news spread across the city, a mob hanged Salazar due to the suspicion of him being the murderer[108] | |||||
23 | African-American | Tennessee | 1888 | Assaulting a white woman | Taken from the courthouse during his trial and lynched on the balcony railings.[109] | |||||
Andrew Grandstaff | White | Wisconsin | 1888 | Killing two adults and two children | Taken from the county jail and hung from a tree on courthouse lawn.[110] | |||||
African-American | Aberdeen | Monroe County | Mississippi | August 14, 1889 | Found with white girl | Hanged | ||||
Fletcher, Magruder | about 35 | African-American | Virginia | 1889 | Raping a white woman in her home[111] | |||||
Anderson, Orion | 14 | African-American | Virginia | 1889 | "Scaring a teenaged white girl"[112] | Hanged from a derrick | ||||
Bush, George | 17 | African-American | Missouri | 1889 | Rape of a five year old white girl | [113] | ||||
Martin, Albert | 23 | African-American | Michigan | 1889 | Assault and rape | A mob broke into his jail cell with sledge hammers, dragged him from the jail with a noose around his neck, beat and shot him to death, then hanged his corpse from a bridge.[114] [115] | ||||
Meadows, George | African-American | N/A | Jefferson | Alabama | 1889 | Rape and murder | Lynched despite calls from his accuser that she could not confirm he was guilty. Sheriff eventually determined he had been innocent, and another man was later arrested. | |||
Johnson,Ripley; Mitchell Adams; Jones, Judge; Phoenix, Robert.; Furz, Hugh;Johnson, Bell, Peter; Harrison; Morral, Ralph. | African-American | Barnwell vicinity | Barnwell | South Carolina | December 28, 1889 | Alleged murder of a merchant and another person. Some were only being held as witnesses. | A mob of about 100 took the men from the jail to the outskirts of Barnwell and shot them.[116] | |||
Williams, Willie | African-American | Texas | 1890 | Rape of an eight year old white girl | Taken from his jail cell by a mob, hanged, and shot multiple times.[117] | |||||
African-American | Tennessee | 1891 | Shooting a policeman | Taken from his jail cell by a mob and lynched on Murfreesboro Road.[118] | ||||||
Salceda, Jesus | Latino | Texas | 1891 | Seducing one of the white men daughters | On February 4, 1891, three white men took Jesus Salceda and hanged him from an oak tree for supposedly seducing one of the white men's daughters. They later found out that they had mistaken Jesus Salceda for another Mexican.[119] | |||||
11 Italian Americans | Italian-American | Orleans | Louisiana | 1891 | Killing of police chief | Three had been acquitted; three had a mistrial; five were never tried. Lynching organized by local leaders, including future mayor Walter C. Flower and future governor John M. Parker. Grand jury brought no charges. | ||||
Clark, Robert | African American | Bristol | Sullivan | Tennessee | June 13, 1891 | Rape | [120] [121] | |||
Ortiz, Louis | Latino | Reno | Washoe | Nevada | 1891 | Shooting of Officer Dick Nash | A repeat, violent, intoxicated offender was arrested for shooting the town's night watchman. Prior to due process, a vigilante crew freed Ortiz from jail at gunpoint and hanged him from the Virginia Street Bridge.[122] | |||
George Smith ("A married man with two children") AKA Joe Coe | African-American | Nebraska | 10 Oct 1891 | Assault on a white girl of five | The Governor and the sheriff tried unsuccessfully to quiet the crowd in front of the courthouse. Pieces of the lynching rope were sold as souvenirs. Despite 16 wounds to his body and three broken vertebrae, Coroner said he died of "fright". Grand jury declined to indict. | |||||
Lundy, Dick | Adult | African-American | Edgefield | Edgefield | South Carolina | 1891 | Murder of son of sheriff | Coroner's jury: "by persons unknown" | ||
African-American, White (Irish) | Florida | 1891 | Murder | Taken together from jail by mob and hanged.[123] | ||||||
African-American | Florida | 1891 | Taken from jail by mob and hanged. | |||||||
Corbin, Henry | African-American | Oxford, Ohio | Ohio | January 14, 1892 | Death of a white woman. | Taken from jail and hanged/ | ||||
Coy, Edward | African-American | Texarkana | Arkansas | February 20, 1892 | Attacked a white women | Burned[124] | ||||
Bright, John Wesley | Taney | Missouri | March 16, 1892 | Killing his wife | Deputy Sheriff George Williams killed by mob who then shot and killed prisoner[125] [126] | |||||
Jim Redmond, Gus Roberson, and Bob Addison[127] | African-American | May 17, 1892 | Arrested for the fatal assault of Toccoa City Marshal James Carter.[128] | Due to threats against the suspects, they were transferred to a jail in Clarkesville, 15 miles east of Toccoa. A week after their arrest, a mob surrounded the jail, overpowered the guards, and dragged the three suspects out of their cells. Using chains and padlocks, the three victims were hanged from a single tree.[129] | ||||||
Taylor, James[130] | 23 | African-American | May 19, 1892 | Accused of the rape of 11-year-old Nettie (Nellie) Silcox on May 16, 1892 | By 9:00 p.m. on May 19, nearly 1,000 men and women gathered at the jail. A body of masked men carrying an assortment of weapons demanded the Sheriff open the jail's door. When the Sheriff refused, the men used a sledgehammer to breach the door rushed in, and swiftly overpowered the Sheriff and other officers on duty. The mob placed a rope around Taylor's neck and dragged him down the steps and out of the jail into Cross Street. They hanged him from a tree just outside the city limits at a point between the Rockwell House and the old Armstrong Hotel. | |||||
Stewart, Charles | Arkansas | May 21, 1892 | Rape | Suspect killed Deputy Sheriff T Holmes while escaping from jail; lynched by posse.[131] [132] | ||||||
28 | African-American | New York | June 2, 1892 | Assaulting a white woman | Hanged.[133] | |||||
Hinson, Henry | African-American | Florida | 1892 | Murder | Hanged. | |||||
Unknown | African-American | Florida | 1892 | Suspicion of burglary and incendiarism | Hanged. | |||||
Moss, Tom | Adult | African-American | Tennessee | 1892 | Complaint from competing white grocery store owner. | So-called Curve Riot (not a riot). Reported on by Ida B., whose newspaper was destroyed and had to leave the state.[134] | ||||
McDowell, Calvin | Adult | African-American | Tennessee | 1892 | Complaint from competing white grocery store owner. | So-called Curve Riot (not a riot). Reported on by Ida B. Wells, whose newspaper was destroyed and had to leave the state. | ||||
Stewart, Will | Adult | African-American | Tennessee | 1892 | Complaint from competing white grocery store owner. | So-called Curve Riot (not a riot). Reported on by Ida B. Wells, whose newspaper was destroyed and had to leave the state. | ||||
African-American | Tennessee | 1892 | Assaulting two white girls in Goodlettsville. | Taken out of his prison cell and lynched on a bridge in downtown Nashville in front of 10,000 onlookers. Later taken back to Goodlettsville.[135] | ||||||
Heflin, Lee | White | Virginia | 1892 | Convicted murderer | Seized from police when they were trying to move him to a safer location. | |||||
Dye, Joseph | White | Virginia | 1892 | Convicted murderer | Seized from police when they were trying to move him to a safer location. | |||||
Bates, William | White | Bedford | Tennessee | 1892 | Alleged murder of his wife. | Mob formed as officers were transporting Bates to jail. He was hanged.[136] | ||||
Shorter, William | 17 | African-American | N/A (independent city) | Virginia | 1893 | Assault on a white woman | ||||
17 | African-American | Texas | 1893 | Kidnapping and murder of white girl; Smith confessed under duress. | Tortured, burned with hot irons, doused in oil and set afire; his remains were sold as souvenirs. | |||||
Miller, C.J. | African-American | Kentucky | July 7, 1893 | Killing two white girls | Despite no evidence that he was the murderer, he was taken from jail and hanged and his dead body cremated. Investigated by journalist Ida B. Wells.[137] | |||||
Peterson, John | Adult | African-American | Denmark | Bamberg (at the time, Barnwell County) | South Carolina | 1893 | Attack on a white girl | |||
Willis, Charles | African-American | Florida | 1894 | Being a "desperado"[138] | Shot and burned in bed. | |||||
African-American | Pennsylvania | 1894 | Murder | Lynched by a mob after escaping from jail.[139] | ||||||
Suiato, Floantina | Latino | Texas | 1895 | Murder | October 12, 1895, 10 masked man went into the jail where Suiato was being held, took him to the banks of the Nueces River, where they hanged him from a tree and riddled his body with bullets[140] | |||||
Rawls, William | African-American | Florida | 1895 | Murder | Hanged and shot. | |||||
Divers, Emmett | Adult | African-American | Missouri | 1895 | Murder of a white woman; Jennie E. Cain | "Horrible fury of the mob...500 horsemen." Hanged from bridge until dead, taken down and hanged a second time from a telegraph pole at the fairground, "at the request of the murdered woman's husband, John William Cain". Body and cabin burned.[141] | ||||
Hillard, Robert | African-American | Texas | 1895 | Rape and murder of a white woman | Burned.[142] [143] | |||||
Castellán, Aureliano | Latino | Texas | 1896 | Accused of looking at a white woman | Shot and burned[144] | |||||
Foster Crawford and Elmer "Kid" Lewis | Unknown, 19 | White | Texas | 1896 | Bank robbery and killing of cashier Frank Dorsey | On February 26,1896, two cowboys robbed the city national bank, murdered cashier Frank Dorsey and stole $410. They were eventually arrested. On the night of February 26,1896, a mob stormed the prison, dragged the pair from the jail and hanged them in front of the bank building[145] | ||||
Saladino, Lorenzo; Arena, Salvatore; Giuseppe Venturella | 33–36, 27, 48 | Italian | Louisiana | 1896 | Murder | Saladino was accused of murdering a wealthy merchant. Arena and Venturella happened to have been in the same prison, accused of a different murder. All were rounded up together and lynched to "teach the lawless Italians a salutary lesson." After the lynching, another person confessed to the murder for which Arena and Venturella had been lynched.[146] | ||||
Daniels, Alfred | African-American | Florida | 1896 | Suspicion of arson (barn burning) (no evidence) | Taken by mob on way to jail, hanged and shot. | |||||
Randolph, Sydney | Adult | African-American | Gaithersburg | Maryland | 1896 | Killing a white girl | Taken from the jail by a mob.[147] | |||
Smith, George | White | New York | 1896 | Alleged murder of his father-on-law and wounding a posseman | Shot by mob; ruled by coroner as suicide | |||||
McCoy, Joseph | 20 | African-American | N/A (independent city) | Virginia | 1897 | Assault on a young girl | [148] | |||
Mitchell, Charles | 23 | African-American | Ohio | June 4, 1897 | Robbery/Rape | Hanged[149] | ||||
Murray, James | Arkansas | Dec 6, 1897 | Victim was a law officer who was shot and lynched by friends of a man who had been arrested for murder[150] | |||||||
Adult | African-American | Charlottesville (near) | Virginia | 1898 | Rape | Hanged and shot by a mob. | ||||
41 | African-American | South Carollna | 1898 | Grand jury did not indict. Since it was a Federal crime (attack on a postmaster), there were 13 Federal indictments; no one was convicted. | ||||||
Smith, Wright | 56 | African-American | Maryland | 1898 | Alleged assault of Mary Morrison. | Wright Smith was identified by Mary Morrison as the man who broke into her house and assaulted her. Mob broke Smith out of jail and riddled his body with bullets. | ||||
Adult | African-American | Illinois | 1898 | Alleged assault of Mary O'Brien | O'Brien was the daughter of a miner. About 100 miners broke into the county jail, abducted Stewart, and hanged him.[151] | |||||
Eight or more | African-American | Phoenix | Greenwood | South Carolina | November, 1898 | Phoenix election riot | Eight or more men were lynched.[152] | |||
Thompson, Benjamin | 20 | African-American | N/A (independent city) | Virginia | 1899 | Attempting to criminally assault an eight-year-old white girl | hanged from a lamppost at Cameron and Lee Sts., site of several lynchings. | |||
Embree, Frank | unknown | African-American | Missouri | July 29, 1899 | Charged with assaulting a 14-year-old girl | Taken from officers and Lynched[153] [154] | ||||
DiFatta brothers (Francesco, Carlo, and Giuseppe); Cerami, Giovanni; Rosario Fiducia | Italian | Louisiana | 1899 | Shooting a doctor | Sicilian immigrant grocery store owners, the DiFatta brothers, quarreled with a local doctor. The doctor fired his pistol at Carlo and was immediately shot and injured by Giuseppe. Sicilian immigrants Cerami and Fiducia were not involved in the dispute and had simply been nearby when the lynching occurred; they were rounded up and lynched alongside the DiFatta brothers because they were Italian.[155] | |||||
about 24 | African-American | Georgia | 1899 | Killed his white employer in self-defense. Accusations of rape added to incite lynching. | Body parts for sale in a store. Widely publicized and privately investigated. | |||||
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George and Ed Silsbee[156] | White | Kansas | January 20, 1900 | Murder | Taken from jail and lynched[157] | ||||
Watt, W.W. | White | Virginia | 1900 | Assault | Shot[158] | ||||
Gause, Anderson | African-American | Tennessee | 1900 | Helping two Black prisoners to escape who had killed two law officers. | Mr. Gause was hanged from a tree.[159] [160] | ||||
Pete, Dago | African-American | Mississippi | 1900 | Assaulted colored woman | Killed by African-American mob | ||||
Cotton, Walter O'Grady,Brandt | African-American White | Virginia | March 24, 1900 | accused of Murder | Cotton killed by a white mob; O'Grady Killed by African-American mob[161] | ||||
Lee, William | 29 | African-American | West Virginia | May 11, 1900 | Assault on a white woman | [162] | |||
Wright, Charlotte | 62 | White | Illinois | Aug. 27, 1900 | Performed an abortion that killed a 16-year-old girl | Shot during shoot-out with sheriff and angry mob that set fire to her home[163] [164] | |||
Porter, Preston | 15 | African-American | Colorado | November 16, 1900 | Rape and murder of a 12 year old white girl | Burned alive by a mob[165] | |||
Alexander, Fred | 22 | African-American | Kansas | 1901 | Rape and murder allegations | Lynched and burned at stake[166] | |||
Berryman, Peter | 45 | African-American | Arkansas | 1901 | Kicking a young White girl | Beaten, shot, and hanged[167] | |||
Estes, Siles | African-American | Kentucky | 1901 | "Forcing...a 15 year old boy...to commit a crime." | Mr. Estes was taken from his jail cell at 2:00 a.m. by a mob of 50 or 75 persons and hanged in front of the courthouse.[168] | ||||
Carter, George | African-American | Kentucky | 1901 | "Assaulting a white woman." | [169] | ||||
African-American | Indiana | February 26, 1901 | Suspected of murder of a white woman | Struck in head with sledgehammer. Hanged from bridge, burned; toes and hobnails from boots kept as souvenirs.[170] | |||||
16 | African-American | Florida | 1901 | Murder and rape of a white woman | Doused with kerosene and burned. Special train from Lakeland to see the "barbecue". | ||||
Godley, William | African-American | Missouri | 1901 | Murder of a white woman | Mob subsequently went on a rampage in a nearby black community[171] | ||||
Price, Manny, Scruggs, Robert | African-American | Florida | 1902 | Murder, suspected accomplice | Taken by mob on way to jail, hanged and shot. | ||||
Unknown | African-American | Georgia | April 16, 1902 | Accused of assaulting white woman and killing her son | Suspect Richard Young was sought on March 27, 1902, injuring Mrs Fountain and mortally injuring her son Dower Fountain.[172] Victim was hanged and burned in a swamp[173] [174] However, victim was not suspect Richard Young-since Richard Young and accomplice James Stewart were captured, tried and sentenced to prison in June 1902[175] | ||||
Gillespie, James and Harrison | 10, 14 | African-American | North Carolina | 1902 | Murder of a white woman | Two brothers were accused of stoning a neighbor to death. Hanged by a mob of an estimated 400 persons and their bodies shot dozens of times.[176] | |||
Yellow Wolf, John | Native-American | South Dakota | 1902 | Horse stealing | After being released from jail, he was given a worthless horse and saddle, while on his way to the reservation he grew up in, he spotted a young horse that he wanted. A group of men took over Yellow Wolf and hanged him from a tree near White River.[177] | ||||
Carter, James | African-American | Virginia | 1902 | Unknown | [178] | ||||
Craven, Charles | African-American | Virginia | 1902 | Assault | |||||
Brown, Curtis and Burley, Garfield | African American | Tennessee | October 8, 1902 | One confessed to murder of a white man and claimed the other was accomplice | [179] | ||||
Dillard, James | ? | African American | Sullivan | Sullivan | Indiana | November 1902 | Accused of sexually assaulting two white women | [180] | |
Vazquez and Unknown Mexican | 17, unknown | Latino | Arizona | 1903 | Stealing Cattle and Skinning stolen beef | Vazquez was found hanging from the tree and was suspected to be one of the Mexicans stealing cattle from the ranch of Will Parker, who discovered the 17 year old. Three Mexicans were also caught nearby skinning stolen beef, with which they tried to escape arrest, but one of the Mexicans who did was fatally shot.[181] | |||
Steers, Jennie | Adult | African-American | rural area near Shreveport | Caddo | Louisiana | 1903 | Poisoning daughter of a planter | [182] | |
Malone,"Rev" D.W. | 50 | Missouri | May 3, 1903 | Suspect had been arrested for living with woman not his wife | When mob burned the man's house down, Constable W. J. Monneyhan placed man under arrest in his own home to protect him. Officer was killed by mob, who then shot and killed prisoner.[183] [184] [185] | ||||
Jarvis, Washington | 25 | White | Florida | May 20, 1903 | Accused of murdering his cousin. | [186] | |||
Unknown | African-American | Missouri | June 1903 | Assaulted African American woman and a white girl | Hanged on tripod[187] [188] | ||||
Adult | African-American | Delaware | June 23, 1903 | Accused of sexually assaulting and stabbing to death an 18-year-old girl | Taken from the city jail by a mob and burned alive.[189] | ||||
Gorman, Jim and Walters, J.P. | Wyoming | July 19, 1903 | each accused of a murder | Deputy Sheriff C. E. Pierce was killed by mob, who then shot the prisoners[190] [191] | |||||
Surasky, Abraham | 30 | Jewish-American | rural area near Aiken | Aiken | South Carolina | July 29, 1903 | Being a Jewish-American peddler who was helping the murderer's wife carry some things to her house. | Murdered by gun and ax; an anti-Semitic murder.[192] | |
Fambro, William | African-American | Georgia | 1903 | Insulted white home | [193] | ||||
African-American | Illinois | 1903 | Assaulting a girl | Hanged[194] | |||||
African-American | Illinois | 1903 | Assaulting a girl | Hanged | |||||
Clark, Jumbo | African-American | Florida | 1904 | Assault of 14 year old white girl | Taken by mob on way to jail, hanged and shot. | ||||
unknown | African-American | Ohio | March 7, 1904 | Murder of a Patrolman Charles B. Collis[195] | shot and then hanged[196] [197] | ||||
Lee, "General" | African-American | South Carolina | 1904 | Knocking on the door of a white woman's house | [198] | ||||
Holbert, Luther, unnamed female | African-American | Mississippi | 1904 | Murder of a white landowner | Tortured and burned alive; crowd of some 600 attended the lynching.[199] | ||||
Cato, Will Reed, Paul | African-American | Statesboro | Bulloch | Georgia | August 16, 1904 | Murder of five members of a family | Seized by mob from courthouse after conviction for murder, chained to stump and burned | ||
African-American | 1904 | Murder | Mob of 2,000 burned jail where he was held, then hanged and shot him.[200] | ||||||
Munoz, Carlos | Latino | Texas | 1905 | Assaulting a White woman | After assaulting one of the farmers' wives, Munoz ran off where officers captured him and tried protecting him, but were overpowered by the mob of 40+ people who dragged him to into the woods, where they shot and hanged Munoz.[201] | ||||
Goodman, Augustus | African-American | Bainbridge | Georgia | November 4, 1905 | Accused of killing Decatur County Sherriff Martin C. Stegall on October 29, 1905 | [202] [203] | |||
23–24 | African-American | Tennessee | March 16, 1906 | Rape of white woman | Sheriff and two others sentenced to three months in jail, three others to two months, for abetting the lynching. Only criminal case ever with direct involvement of the U.S. Supreme Court; see United States v. Shipp | ||||
Duncan, Horace | 20 to 21 | African-American | Missouri | 1906 | Assault of white woman | Fred Coker, Horace B. Duncan, and William (Bill) Allen were lynched by large mob of white citizens, though they were innocent. All three suspects were hanged from the Gottfried Tower, which held a replica of the Statue of Liberty, and burned in the courthouse square by a mob of more than 2,000 citizens. Duncan's and Coker's employer testified that they were at his business at the time of the crime against Edwards, and other evidence suggested that they and Allen were all innocent. After the mass lynching in Springfield, many African Americans left the area in a large exodus. Judge Azariah W. Lincoln called for a grand jury, but no one was prosecuted. The proceedings were covered by national newspapers, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. | |||
Richardson, Bunk | African-American | Alabama | Feb 11,1906 | Not charged | Was arrested/held as a witness for one of three defendants accused of rape and murder of a white woman. The three defendants were sentenced to death, but the governor commuted to life one man's sentence. Angry at the lighter sentence, a mob seized Richardson from the jail and hanged him from a train trestle over the Coosa River.[204] [205] [206] [207] | ||||
Nease Gillepsie, John Gillepsie, "Jack" Dillingham, Henry Lee, and George Irwin | African-American | North Carolina | August 6, 1906 | Accused of murdering a family | The five men were arrested and accused of the murder several members of a local white family, the Lyerlys. When returned for a court hearing and while under heavy guard, a mob led by George Hall pulled Dillingham and the Gillepsies, father and son, from their jail cells. They were paraded through the town and hanged from a tree[208] at the Henderson Ballground near the corner of Long and Henderson Streets.[209] George Hall, a leading member of the mob, was convicted of second degree murder for his involvement and was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor. He was granted clemency by Governor William Walton Kitchin in October 1911.[210] | ||||
Robinson, Dick and Thompson | African American | Alabama | October 6, 1906 | Assaulting white women | [211] | ||||
Davis, Henry | African-American | Annapolis | Anne Arundel | Maryland | December 21, 1906 | Assaulting a white woman | Dragged from his jail cell and shot over 100 times. Last known lynching in Anne Arundel County.[212] | ||
Pitts, Slab | African-American | Texas | 1906 | Living with a white woman | Dragged to death before being hanged.[213] | ||||
Burns, William | 22 | African-American | Maryland | 1907 | Alleged murder of Patrolman August Baker.[214] | A crowd estimated at 10,000 examined the lynching victim's body. | |||
Higgins, Loris | White | Nebraska | August 27, 1907 | Murder of a farmer and his wife and rape of daughter | Murdered couple killed May 12, 1907; suspect was taken from law officers and lynched from a bridge over creek and then shot[215] [216] [217] [218] | ||||
Long, Jack | White | Florida | 1908 | Murder | Hanged. | ||||
Black | Mississippi | 1908 | Assault on a White girl | Shot, hanged[219] | |||||
Scott, Charley | African American | Texas | Feb 28, 1908 | Peeping Tom looking in windows | hanged on tree see[220] | ||||
Miller, William | African-American | Alabama | 1908 | Labor activist | Jefferson County had the highest number of lynchings in Alabama (29).[221] | ||||
Patton, Nelse | African-American | Mississippi | 1908 | Killing a white woman | Prominent attorney and former U.S. Senator William V. Sullivan, in his own words, "led the mob...and I'm proud of it".[222] [223] [224] | ||||
Walker, David, his wife and four children | African-American | Kentucky | 1908 | Using inappropriate language with a white woman | [225] | ||||
Jerry Evans, Will Johnson, Moss Spellman, Clevel Williams, and Will Manuel | 22–27 | African American | Texas | June 15, 1908 | Murder of two white men | Five black men accused of murder were hanged by a mob of an estimated 150[226] [227] | |||
Smith, Ted | 18 | African American | Greenville | Texas | July 27, 1908 | Raping a 16-year old white girl | After victim identified suspect as the person who assaulted her, Smith was taken by mob from Sheriff and lynched (burned)[228] [229] [230] | ||
Leander Shaw | African American | Pensacola | Escambia | Florida | July 29, 1908 | Attempted murder and rape of 21-year-old Lillie Davis | After Shaw was identified by Davis, he was arrested and taken to the county jail. An angry white mob broke into the jail and took Shaw, lynching him in Plaza Ferdinand VII.[231] | ||
Riley, Joseph; Jones, Virgil; Jones, Robert; Jones, Thomas | African-American | Russellville | Logan | July 31, 1908 | Victims expressed approval of their lodge brother Rufus Browder's killing his employer. | Rufus Browder killed his employer with an axe after being shot in the chest. Browder was arrested and sent to Louisville. The lynching victims expressed approval for his actions and were jailed for disturbing the peace. On August 1, 1908, a mob demanded release of the men, and lynched them from a tree. A note pinned to one of the men read, "Let this be a warning to you niggers to let white people alone or you will go the same way."[232] [233] | |||
Hilliard | 18 | African American | Arkansas | 1909 | Using inappropriate language with a white woman | Hung[234] | |||
Jake Wades | Wades, Jake | African American | Lakeland | Polk | Florida | 1909 | Accused of rape | Transported from Gainesville to Lakeland to be identified and lynched[235] | |
Brown, Joe | White | West Virginia | March 25, 1909 | Shooting a law officer | [236] | ||||
47 | White | Oklahoma | April 19, 1909 | Suspicion of murder of a lawman | Lynched by a mob along with Berry Burrell, Joseph Allen, and Jesse West.[237] | ||||
Burrell, Berry | 38 | White | Oklahoma | April 19, 1909 | Suspicion of murder of a lawman | Lynched by a mob along with Jim Miller, Joseph Allen, and Jesse West. | |||
Allen, Joseph | 43 | White | Oklahoma | April 19, 1909 | Suspicion of murder of a lawman | Lynched by a mob along with Jim Miller, Berry Burrell, and Jesse West. | |||
West, Jesse | 46 | White | Oklahoma | April 19, 1909 | Suspicion of murder of a lawman | Lynched by a mob along with Jim Miller, Berry Burrell, and Joseph Allen. | |||
African American | Illinois | November 11, 1909 | Murder of a white woman three days earlier[238] | ||||||
White | Illinois | November 11, 1909 | Murder of his wife the previous year | Dragged from his jail cell and hanged from a telegraph pole.[239] | |||||
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
60 | African-American | Dallas County | Texas | 1910 | Brooks was accused of raping Mary Beuvens, a two-and-a-half year old girl | On March 3, 1910, Brooks was in the Dallas County Courthouse to face trial. A mob tied a rope around his neck and pulled him out of the courthouse window. Brooks landed on his head on the street below. He was dragged by a car to Elks Arch at the intersection of Main Street and Akard Street. There the mob hanged him from a telephone pole.[240] | |||
20 | Latino | Texas | 1910 | Accused of murdering White Texan | Antonio Rodriguez was a 20 year old migrant worker from Mexico. On November 2, Antonio was accused of murdering a White Texan, which led to him getting arrested and jailed. On November 3, 1910, a mob took him from his jail cell and burned him alive.[241] [242] | ||||
Etherington, Carl Mayes | 17 | White | Ohio | July 8, 1910 | Killing a man in self defense | Etherington had been sworn in as a law officer by the Granville town mayor to enforce "prohibition" of alcohol in a "wet town"; shot and killed a man who assaulted him; officer taken from jail and lynched by mob in Newark, Ohio[243] | |||
Gentry, Henry | African American | Texas | July 24, 1910 | Murder of Constable J. Mitchell | Shot and burned[244] [245] [246] | ||||
Albano, Angelo and Castenge Ficarotta | Italian | Florida | 1910 | Complicity in a shooting | [247] | ||||
Marshall, Eugene | unknown | African-American | Shelbyville | Shelbyville | Kentucky | January 16, 1911 | Convicted of murdering an aged negro woman | Three men (Eugene Marshall, Wade Patterson, James West) lynched at the same time after the mob broke into jail after threatening the jailor for the keys. All three were hanged from the Chesapeake and Ohio bridge. One rope for two men (Patterson and West) was used, which snapped. Afterward, they were shot multiple times.[248] | |
Patterson, Wade | unknown | African-American | Shelbyville | Shelbyville | Kentucky | January 16, 1911 | Charged with detaining Miss Elizabeth Rubel, a white nineteen-year old Shelbyville girl | Three men (Eugene Marshall, Wade Patterson, James West) lynched at the same time after the mob broke into jail after threatening the jailor for the keys. All three were hanged from the Chesapeake and Ohio bridge. One rope for two men (Patterson and West) was used, which snapped. Afterward, they were shot multiple times. | |
West, James | unknown | African-American | Shelbyville | Shelbyville | Kentucky | January 16, 1911 | Charged with detaining Miss Mary Coley, a young white girl. | Three men (Eugene Marshall, Wade Patterson, James West) lynched at the same time after the mob broke into jail after threatening the jailor for the keys. All three were hanged from the Chesapeake and Ohio bridge. One rope for two men (Patterson and West) was used, which snapped. Afterward, they were shot multiple times. | |
African-American | Oklahoma | May 25, 1911 | Killing of Deputy Sheriff George H. Loney[249] | Gang-raped and lynched together with her son, 14, after trying to protect him during a meat-pilfering investigation.[250] | |||||
14 | Latino | Texas | 1911 | Killing a German man | After trying to escape a mob that surrounded the 14-year-old boy, he ended up killing a German man named Charles Zieschang which led to the 14 year old's arrest. While being transported to the jailhouse, four men intercepted the two people taking Antonio and successfully lynched Antonio Gomez. | ||||
William Bradford | African-American | Chunky | Newton | Mississippi | June 16, 1911 | Accused of attempted murder of two white farmers | [251] | ||
Jones, Commodore | 26 | African-American | Farmersville | Collin | Texas | August 11, 1911 | Accused of insulting a white woman over the telephone. | Crowd of around 75 men and boys gained access to Jones's cell and marched him to the outskirts of town, where he was forced to climb a telephone pole and was hanged.[252] [253] | |
Lee, John | African American | Durant | Oklahoma | August 12, 1911 | Assault and murder of a white woman | Picture of victim appeared in Crisis Magazine January 1912 p. 122:[254] Shot and burned | |||
Johnson, King[255] | 28 | African American | Brooklyn | Anne Arundel | Maryland | 1911 | Alleged murder of Frederick Schwab. | Johnson was to be transported to Annapolis for his safety that same day, but those plans were delayed. Around two o'clock in the morning on December 26, 1911, a mob broke into the unguarded jail where Johnson was kept. When Johnson fought back preventing a noose from being placed on his neck, he was beaten with irons and shot. | |
20–24 | African-American | Pennsylvania | August 16, 1911 | Killing of a police officer, possibly in self-defense | Taken from hospital room and burned alive. Fifteen men and teenage boys were indicted, but all were acquitted at trials.[256] | ||||
Harrison, Ernest Reed, Sam, and Howard, Frank | African American | Kentucky | September 11, 1911 | Robbery and murder of an elderly black man | The three men were accused of the robbery and murder of Washington Thomas, an elderly black man.[257] | ||||
Unknown | African American | 1911 | Postcard of victim, postmarked 1911, appeared in Crisis Magazine January 1912 p. 118 | ||||||
2 Unknown men | African American | Prior December 1911 | Picture of victims appeared in Crisis Magazine twice; first, a cropped picture of one victim in December 1911 in article "Jesus Christ in Georgia" (p. 70) and a full picture of both victims in January 1912 p. 122 | ||||||
Lewis, Sanford | African-American | Fort Smith | Arkansas | 1912 | Shooting a constable | Five policemen fined $100 each for "nonfeasance of office". Entire police force fired. Mayor voted out. Man charged with lynching acquitted.[258] | |||
Unknown | African American | Florida(?) | Prior Feb 3, 1912 | Picture of victim appeared in Crisis Magazine March 1912 p. 209 [card purchased 3 Feb 1912 in Palm Beach Florida][259] | |||||
Davis, Dan | 25 | African-American | Texas | 1912 | Assault and rape of a 16 year old white girl | Burned alive by a mob[260] | |||
Johnson, Walter | African-American | West Virginia | Sept 4, 1912 | Assault and rape of a 14-year-old girl | Taken out of his jail cell by an armed mob; hanged and shot.[261] | ||||
Green, Joe | 16 | African-American | Alabama | February 25, 1913 | Fatal shooting of Nobie Spicer | Shot and killed by a mob led by the victim's husband who identified Green as the murderer.[262] Samuel Spicer Jr. would later be convicted of the murder of his wife, Nobie, and sentenced to life in prison. He was paroled in December 1929, but then fled.[263] | |||
9 Mexicans | Latino | Texas | 1913 | Being Mexican Bandits | Hanged[264] | ||||
Delgadillio, Demecio | 28 | Latino | New Mexico | 1913 | Murder | Demecio killed Mrs. Soledad Zarrazino De Pino in a fit of jealous which led to him being hanged in Bernalillo County Jail[265] | |||
White, Henry | African-American | Florida | 1913 | Found under white woman's bed | Hanged, noose broke, shot. | ||||
Williams, Andrew | 35 | African-American | Houston | Chickasaw | Mississippi | 1913 | Murder of John C. Williams, Wife of the Deputy Chancery Clerk | Dragged from jail and hanged at a nearby tree, upon the alleged statement of two African-American women;[266] the women who made the statement were arrested the next day for making a false statement, according to one source[267] and/or disappeared.[268] The day after Williams was lynched, a second African-American, named in different reports as 'Divel Rucker', 'Dizell Rucker' and 'Dibrell Tucker; was lynched and burned at the stake on the assumption that he, not Williams, was the actual murderer[269] [270] | |
Rucker, Divel | 20 | African-American | Houston | Chickasaw | Mississippi | 1913 | Murder of John C. Williams, Wife of the Deputy Chancery Clerk | The day after Andrew Williams was lynched by hanging for this murder, Rucker was presumed by the mob to be the actual murderer and, allegedly, confessed to the crime. He was tied to an iron stake, covered with tar, and set afire. The family of the victim shot him as he was burning[271] According to the New York Sun report, "The Rucker lynching was the most spectacular in the history of Mississippi and there was no attempt at concealment or evasion."[272] | |
Simmons, Bennie/Dennis | African-American | Oklahoma | June 13, 1913 | Killing a 16-year-old girl | Taken from officers; was lynched and burned[273] | ||||
Richardson, Joseph | African-American | Kentucky | September 26, 1913 | Assaulting a white girl | Town drunk who accidentally stumbled near girl; hanged[274] | ||||
Adolfo Padilla | Latino | New Mexico | 1914 | Accused of killing his wife | A mob of masked men seized Padilla from the jail and chopped his body into pieces.[275] | ||||
18 | Latino | Texas | 1914 | Killing a White woman | On July 28, 1911, Leon Martinez was tried for the murder of a white woman. They used the forced confessions as evidence of him committing murder and he was sentenced to death but it was postponed due to the outrage. On May 11, 1914, Leon was executed by hanging. | ||||
Gonzales, Isidro | Latino | Texas | 1914 | Choking a county jailer to death | Isidro was accused to have choke Harry Hinton to death and escaped from jail. He was found riddle with bullets after his escape.[276] | ||||
Turner, Allen | 47 | African-American | Western area of Parish (county) | Union | Louisiana | 1914 | Accused of Assaulting a white man (J.P. McDougall)[277] | J.P. McDougall was whipping Allen Turner's son. Allen was defending his son. Taken from deputy sheriff and shot to death. It is said that Allen's body was then dragged through the roads of Spearsville. | |
Shields, Dallas | African-American | Missouri | 1914 | Murdering a police officer | [278] | ||||
Sullivan, Fred; Sullivan, May | African-American | Byhalia | Marshall | Mississippi | 1914 | Alleged barn burning. | Fred Sullivan and his wife May confessed after nooses were placed around their necks. The couple were hanged by a mob of more than 100.[279] | ||
31 | Jewish | Georgia | 1915 | Killing a 13-year-old girl | No charges filed; posthumously pardoned. | ||||
African-American | Mississippi | 1915 | Bumping into a white girl at a train station | Pictures of his lynching were sold to white citizens for five cents each.[280] | |||||
11 Mexican-Americans | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Supposedly were Mexican Bandits | After hearing news of Luis De La Rose had been killed in battle, Sheriff Vann went to Mission, Texas to see if the news was true, on the way, American troops found the bodies of 11 Mexicans. Commander Blocksom ordered an investigation to investigate the killings. He believed that the Mexicans were not Bandits and were peaceful Mexicans who were killed due to race hatred after the Progreso battle.[281] | ||||
10 Mexican-Americans | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Train wrecking and murder | After a train wrecking that killed 3 people, the Americans began to hang or shoot Mexicans who they thought were involved in the wreck[282] | ||||
33, others unknown | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Horse theft | Orozco successfully executed a planned escape to Sierra Blanca where he met up with leaders and future cabinet members where they crossed into Dick Love's ranch who accused them of stealing his horses and later got the Rangers and other law enforcement to look for the men where they found the men camping in a box canyon where they killed all 5 of the men. | ||||
67, 49 | Latino | Texas | 1915 | No accusation | Jesus and Antonio went to report that a few of their horses had been stolen to the Texas Rangers. After they reported that stuff to the Rangers and left, Ranger Henry Ransom followed Jesus and Antonio and shot both of them dead. Henry Ransom had called for the bodies to be left in the open to spread fear across the town. | ||||
Six Mexicans | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Murder | Two of the Mexicans were taken from San Benito jail and the other four Mexicans were taken from Mercedes where they shot to death and bodies burned on the side of a road.[283] | ||||
Jose and Hilario Leon | Latino | Arizona | 1915 | Outlawry | Two white police officers interrogated the brothers and accused them of being outlaws. They hung the brothers from a tree and left their bodies to rot in the desert gulch. | ||||
Lorenzo and Gorgonio Manriquez | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Resisting arrest | Shot[284] | ||||
Muñóz, Adolfo | Latino | Texas | 1915 | Murder and horse theft | While being transported by Sheriff Frank Carr, a group of seven to eight men held the Sheriff at gun point, taking Adolfo and later hanging him from a tree.[285] | ||||
Lynching of James and Alonzo Green | African-American | Columbus | Jones County | Georgia | 1915 | Mob ran into them while hunting for the murderer of white farmer | [286] | ||
Stevenson, Cordella | African-American | Columbus | Lowndes | Mississippi | 1915 | Her son was accused of burning a white man's barn, he was unavailable, so they raped and murdered her | Her husband Arch was never seen alive after December 15[287] | ||
37 | White | Oklahoma | 1915 | Murdering his wife | Mob expected him to be freed on grounds of insanity.[288] | ||||
Stanley, Will | African American | Texas | July 29–30, 1915 | Murder of 3 children and assaulting parents | Lynched and Burned. Stanley Claimed to have been accessory to murders and claimed leader of mob had hired him and other 2 men[289] [290] | ||||
Sheffield, Caesar | 17 | African-American | Lake Park | Lowndes | Georgia | 1915 | Allegedly stealing meat from a smokehouse owned by a white man. | Jailors abandoned the jail allowing a mob to take Caesar Sheffield to a field where they shot him multiple times and left his body.[291] | |
Richards, John | African American | North Carolina | January 12, 1916 | murder | Taken from jail and lynched[292] | ||||
Lerma, Greonimo | Latino | Texas | 1916 | Assaulting a White woman | Greonimo was suspected to have assaulted one of the white woman in the town which led to him being shot and left dead.[293] | ||||
Buenros, Jose; Chapa, Melquiades | Latino | Texas | 1916 | Murder of A. L. Austin and Charles Austin | The 2 Mexican men were accused of having killed A. L. Austin and his son in raids the fall of 1915, they were hanged in Cameron County Jail[294] | ||||
Newberry Six lynchings (Baskins, Rev. Josh J.; Dennis, Bert; Dennis, James; Dennis, Mary; McHenry, Andrew; and Young, Stella) | Adults | African-American | Florida | 1916 | Helping a man who had shot and killed a constable | James Dennis was shot. The others were hanged. Mary Dennis had two children and was pregnant. Stella Young had four children.[295] | |||
Hoskins, Silas | African-American | Arkansas | summer of 1916 | "Vanished"; believed to have been killed because a white man coveted his successful saloon business. Uncle of author Richard Wright. | |||||
Lang, Ed | African-American | Texas | 1916 | "Attacking a young woman." | Taken from a sheriff's posse and hanged.[296] | ||||
[297] | 51 | African-American | South Carolina | 1916 | Offensive language | Coroner's jury: "persons unknown" | |||
[298] | 17 | African-American | Texas | 1916 | Murder | Washington confessed and a jury found him guilty. Dragged behind car, castrated, fingers cut off, ear cut off, burned alive. Professionally photographed; pictures sold as postcards. Lynching of "political value" to Sheriff and to the judge who presided over his trial. "On the way to the scene of the burning, people on every hand took a hand in showing their feelings in the matter by striking the Negro with anything obtainable, some struck him with shovels, bricks, clubs and others stabbed him and cut him until when he was strung up his body was a solid color of red." | |||
Unknown | White (Italian American) | New York | December 14, 1916 | Murderous assault | Randomly fired a revolver on a crowded street, wounding a bystander. Chased down by mob of 500 men and boys. Beaten and trampled to death.[299] | ||||
and brother Irving | 19 and 28-years-old | African-American | Texas | 1917 | Murder | Pulled from jail and burned alive | |||
Daley, Starr | 26 | White | Pinal | Arizona | data-sort-value=1917 | May 6, 1917 | Homicide (Two murders) plus two rapes | Accused admitted guilt in trial; taken from sheriff en route to jail and hanged from a telephone pole; last lynching in Arizona | |
about 50 | African-American | Tennessee | May 22, 1917 | Raping and killing a white girl | No charges filed. | ||||
32 | African-American | Tennessee | 1917 | Rape of a white woman | Scott was tortured for 3.5 hours and then burned alive by an angry mob on Sunday December 2, 1917.[300] | ||||
15–50 | Latino | Texas | 1918 | Accused of Stealing and Ambushing Texas Rangers | January 28, 1918, Texas Rangers enter Porvenir and took 15 Mexican American boys and men away from the town and executed all 15 by gun shot[301] | ||||
Garcia, Florencio | Latino | Texas | 1918 | Robbery | Two rangers had taken Garcia into custody for a theft investigation. The next day they let Garcia go, and were last seen escorting him on a mule. Garcia was never seen again. A month after the interrogation, bones and Garcia's clothing were found beside the road where the Rangers claimed to have let Garcia go. The Rangers were arrested for murder, freed on bail, and acquitted due to lack of evidence.[302] | ||||
4 Mexicans | Latino | Arizona | 1918 | Robbery and murder | Seized from homes and Hanged[303] | ||||
McIlherron, Jim[304] [305] [306] | African-American | Tennessee | 1918 | Killing two white people | Tortured, then burned alive. Spectators came from as far as 50 miles away. | ||||
Clark, Andrew and Major; Alma and Maggie House | 16, 20, 16, 20 | African-American | Shubuta ("hanging bridge") | Mississippi | 1918 | Alleged murder of dentist | Dentist had affairs with both sisters, who were pregnant, likely with his child; the brothers had romantic interest in the girls. After the lynching the babies were seen squirming in their mothers bellies.[307] | ||
Taylor, George | African-American | North Carolina | 1918 | Rape of a white woman | No charges were filed.[308] There is a Web site on this lynching.[309] | ||||
McNeel, George | African-American | Munroe, Louisiana | Louisiana | 16 March 1918 | accused of Assaulting a white woman [no proof] | [310] | |||
25 | African-American | Georgia | 1918 | Accused of helping kill an abusive landowner. | Wife Mary killed next day for defending him. | ||||
[311] | 18 | African-American | Georgia | May 16 1918 | Publicly opposed and threatened legal action against white people who had murdered her husband, unfairly accused (according to her) of killing an abusive landowner. | Hanged upside down from a tree, doused her in gasoline and motor oil and set her on fire. Turner was still alive when a member of the mob split her abdomen open with a knife and her unborn child fell on the ground. The baby was stomped and crushed as it fell to the ground. Turner's body was riddled with hundreds of bullets. | |||
Thompson, Allie | African-American | Virginia | 1918 | Assault | |||||
30 | White (German-American) | Illinois | 1918 | Forced to sing patriotic songs and kiss the flag, before being hanged. | |||||
38 | White (Finnish-American) | Minnesota | 1918 | Refusal to join the military during World War I | Tarred and feathered before being hanged. | ||||
Woodson, Joel | African American | Sweatwater County | Wyoming | Dec 10, 1918 | Argument with a waitress | Hanged in railroad terminal[312] [313] | |||
Jose Gonzalez and Salvador Ortez | Latino | Colorado | 1919 | Killing patrolman | The two Mexicans natives were accused of shooting and killing a patrolman Jeff Evans, which they were arrested and charged for. A mob broke into the jail captured and hung from the girders of a Bridge.[314] | ||||
Mosely, Sam | African-American | Florida | Columbia | Florida | 1919 | Accused of assaulting a white woman. | [315] | ||
28 | White | Missouri | 1919 | Murder | Hanged. | ||||
Everest, Wesley | 28 | White | Centralia | Lewis | Washington | 1919 | Homicide | Hanged from a bridge during the Centralia Massacre labor conflict | |
Little, Wilbur | African-American | Blakely | Early | Georgia | 1919 | Wearing uniform of his WWI military service to the United States | |||
41 | African-American | Nebraska | 1919 | Rape | Part of the Omaha race riot of 1919 | ||||
Williams, Eugene | African-American | Illinois | 1919 | Racial unrest | A white officer refused to arrest the murderer, and instead arrested a black man who complained about it.[316] | ||||
Robinson, Robert | African-American | Chicago | Illinois | 1919 | He was black, and they wanted to kill a black | Robinson was an Army Reserve veteran.[317] | |||
Ashley, Bob | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Hoped to shoot someone else | A group of men thought another man might be inside Ashley's house, so they shot into the house, mortally wounding Ashley.[318] | ||||
Hamilton, Eugene | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Convicted by all-white jury of attempting to shoot a white farmer; case before Georgia Court of Appeals. | Mob of 60 stopped car of sheriff who was driving him for protection to nearest large city, Macon. Driven to a bridge in Jasper County and shot to death. Governor was "livid". | ||||
Cox, Obe | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Accused of murdering a white farmer's wife | Taken to the scene of the crime, his body riddled with bullets and burned at the stake. Several thousand persons witnessed the scene. Controversial as the local Black communisty "thanked" the mob for just killing Cox and not attacking their community.[319] | ||||
Moore, Will | African-American | Mississippi | May 20, 1919 | Shooting J.H. Rogers | Lynched[320] | ||||
African-American | Macon (near) | Georgia | 1919 | Attacking a white woman. | Mob of 400 found him, refused to turn him over to sheriff's deputies. Soaked in gasoline, set on fire; shot while he burned. | ||||
African-American | Arkansas | 1919 | Killing a sheriff | Burned to death in the public square. | |||||
African-American | Texas | 1919 | Making "indecent advances" to a white woman | ||||||
Holden, George | African-American | Monroe (near) | Louisiana | 1919 | Writing a suggestive note to a white woman[321] | Mob stopped a train, dragged him off, and shot him.[322] | |||
African-American | Jenkins | Georgia | 1919 | Friend of man believed to have killed lawman. | |||||
African-American | Jenkins | Georgia | 1919 | Son of man believed to have killed lawman. | |||||
African-American | Jenkins | Georgia | 1919 | Son of man believed to have killed lawman. | |||||
Walters, Lemuel | African-American | Texas | 1919 | Consensual sex with white woman | The report of the affair and the subsequent coverup led to the Longview riots.[323] | ||||
Richards, Benny | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Accused of murdering his ex-wife and shooting 5 others | 300 men lynched Richards, a farmer.[324] [325] | ||||
Clay, Lloyd | African-American | Mississippi | 1919 | False rape accusation | 1000 men broke through three steel doors to abduct Clay from jail before hanging, shooting, and burning him.[326] | ||||
Prince, Henry | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Unknown | [327] | ||||
Waters, Jim | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Rape accusation | Investigation closed in one hour with no witnesses interviewed. | ||||
25 | African-American | Arkansas | 1919 | False murder accusation | One of many returning WWI veterans lynched in 1919.[328] | ||||
72 | African-American | Georgia | 1919 | Defended black girls from white home invaders. | Many black homes burned to discourage citizens from coming forward[329] | ||||
28 | African-American | Texas | 1919 | Assaulted a white women, Mrs. Virgie Haggard | He was arrested and a mob of about 1,000 white people stormed the jail and broke down the door with sledgehammers. A noose was placed around his neck and he was dragged by horse to the town square where he was hanged. Four people were later arrested for the lynching, murder indictments were served for Willie Howell, Charlie Lansdale, Fritz Boyd, and Francis Flanagan.[330] [331] | ||||
Phifer, Miles (or Relius) | African-American | Alabama | 1919 | Assault of a white woman | Was wearing military uniform[332] | ||||
Temple, Will | African-American | Alabama | 1919 | Killing a police officer | |||||
Miles Phifer, Robert Crosky and John Temple | African-American | Alabama | 1919 | Assault of a white woman | |||||
African-American | Mississippi | June 26, 1919 | Assaulting a young white woman | "The biggest newspaper in the state, Jackson Daily News, carried headlines announcing the exact time and place of the coming orgy.[333] Ten thousand people answered the paper's invitation and they were addressed by the District Attorney, T. W. Wilson, while the lynching was going on."[334] | |||||
Paul, Jones | African-American | Georgia | Nov 2, 1919 | Assault of a white woman | Hanged/shot/burned in railyard.[335] [336] | ||||
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas, Wade | African-American | Arkansas | 1920 | Killing a policeman | Taken from jail by a mob, hanged, then riddled with bullets.[337] | ||||
Gathers, Phillip | African-American | Effingham | Georgia | 1920 | Murder | ||||
Scott, Henry | African American | Florida | 1920 | He asked a white woman to wait until he had prepared another woman's train berth | Shot[338] | ||||
Daniels, Lige | 16–18 | African-American | Texas | August 3, 1920 | Accused of murdering a white woman. | Taken from jail by a mob of approximately 1,000 to the town square and hanged[339] [340] | |||
20–23 | African-American | Minnesota | June 15, 1920 | Rape of a teenage girl | Taken from jail by mob, given mock trials, beaten and hanged from light-post.[341] Three members of the mob received prison terms of up to 5 years for rioting, albeit none of them were convicted of murder.[342] | ||||
18 | White | Oklahoma | 1920 | Suspicion of murder of cab driver | [343] | ||||
[344] | 52 | African-American | Florida | 1920 | Sign on body: "This is what we do to niggers that vote." | Prosperous black farmer. See Ocoee massacre. | |||
Cade, Henry | 25 | African-American | Texas | 1921 | Rape of an 8 year old white girl | Taken from jail and hanged by a mob[345] | |||
Eley, Jesse | 46 | African-American | Murfreesboro | Hertford | North Carolina | 1921 | Owned a 50 arch farm which caused jealousy from some white neighbors. | Jesse Eley was returning from the market in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. He bought some grain for his cattle. He had two workers riding with him in his horse-drawn wagon. As he reached the outskirts of town, he entered a path that went into a wooded area. Several men were hiding in the woods entrance waiting for him. As his wagon entered the woods, the men stopped Jesse. They began beating him and eventually hanged him on a tree. Jesse's workers took off running. One of them ran back to Jesse's farm to let the family know what was happening. The family got a horse-drawn buggy and went to rescue him. By the time they got there, Jesse was barely alive. They found him because he raised one of his legs in the air to let them know where he was.Jesse had a hole in his head, and his stomach was cut open. His throat was seizing up because of the hanging. As they put him into the buggy, he died.[346] [347] | |
Lowry, Henry ("a negro sharecropper") | African-American | Arkansas | 1921 | Asked for his wages | Burned to death; crowd of 500[348] | ||||
African-American | Hempstead County | Arkansas | March 15, 1921 | Assaulting a white woman | |||||
Hackney, "Curly" | 30 | White | Texas | 1921 | Rape of an 8-year-old girl | Taken from jail and hanged by a mob[349] | |||
William Turner | 18 | African-American | Helena | Phillips County, Arkansas | Arkansas | November 18, 1921 | Alleged assault of 15-year-old white girl | Shot, dragged to the park, doused in gasoline and lit on fire | |
Rouse, Fred | 33 | African-American | Fort Worth | Tarrant County | Texas | December 11, 1921 | Shot two | While hired as a strikebreaker for a whites-only union, he was attacked and shot two union protesters. | |
Manuel Cabeza | 34 | White | Key West | Monroe | Florida | December 25, 1921 | Was in a relationship with an African American woman | Shot a man who tarred and feathered him (because of his common law marriage); lynched by Ku Klux Klan. | |
African-American | Near the border of Williamsburg and Florence Counties | Florence | South Carolina | January 8, 1922 | Was in a relationship with a white woman | Bill McAllister was killed by gunshot. The news of this lynching did not reach the national media until January 8, 1922, and so it is recorded as the first lynching of 1922 in America. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary recorded five lynching incidents recorded in December 1921, none of which in South Carolina | |||
African-American | Near the border of Williamsburg and Florence Countie | Florence County | South Carolina | January 8, 1922 | Was in a relationship with a white woman | Lincoln Hickson was reportedly killed by gunfire but other sources say he survived the lynching | |||
African-American | Eufaula | Barbour | Alabama | January 10, 1922 | Dispute with his boss' wife. Newspapers reported that he "insulted a white woman." | Shot | |||
African-American | Oklahoma County | Oklahoma | January 14, 1922 | Working as a strike breaker | Hanged. Five men later pleaded guilty to Brooks's murder and were each sentenced to life in prison. | ||||
African-American | Mayo | Lafayette County | Florida | January 17, 1922 | Participated in a shooting that killed mailman W.R. Taylor | Hanged | |||
20 | African-American | Pontotoc | Pontotoc County | Mississippi | January 29, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | Shot | ||
20 | African-American | Pontotoc | Pontotoc County | Mississippi | January 29, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | Shot | ||
22–23 | White | Bolinger | Choctaw County | Alabama | January 28, 1922 | Unknown | A charred body, of a white man, was discovered on January 28, 1922, by H.T. Raines. Investigators determined that he was burned a few weeks earlier. The body was strung between two trees and a large pile of wood was piled around him. It was reported that the body was most likely Drew Connor who went missing Christmas 1921 but the only clues to the identity were some overall buttons found in the ash. | ||
African-American | Crystal Springs | Copiah County | Mississippi | February 1, 1922 | Assault of white woman | Hanged | |||
38 | African-American | Malvern | Hot Spring County | Arkansas | February 2, 1922 | Harassing white women | Shot | ||
Hispanic | Cameron County | Cameron County | Texas | February 2, 1922 | Refused to leave farm | Shot for not leaving the farm where he worked | |||
African-American | Texarkana, Arkansas | Miller County | Arkansas | February 11, 1922 | Forced a deputy to drive at gunpoint | Pulled from a car and shot four times by masked men. | |||
28 | African-American | Schley County | Georgia | February 13, 1922 | Unknown | Shot | |||
African-American | Aberdeen | Monroe County | Mississippi | March 8, 1922 | Assault on white girl | Hanged | |||
African-American | Harlem | Columbia County | Georgia | March 12, 1922 | Assault with a firearm | Alfred Williams was lynched on March 12, 1922, in Harlem, Georgia for allegedly shooting and wounding L.O. Anderson, a white farmer. Anderson recovered from his wounds. | |||
White | Holly Grove | Franklin Parish | Louisiana | March 13, 1922 | Unknown | Brown Culpepper was living in Holly Grove, Louisiana with his two kids, his wife having moved to Natchez two years earlier. On Saturday, March 11, 1922, a party of unmasked men came to the house he was staying at; when they did not find him, they went to the house of J.R. Hutto where Culpepper was visiting. They called for him to come out but when he didn't, they stormed into the house and shot Culpepper dead. Sheriff Jesse Gilbert of Winnsboro arrested eight people for involvement in the murder: P. M. Usery Sr., Albert Farrington, P. M. Usery Jr., J. C. Farrington, Charley Parson, George Wactor, Charlie Calendor and Eugene Bradshaw. | |||
African-American | Crawford | Lowndes County | Mississippi | March 17, 1922 | Assault on white woman | The wife of a popular farmer, Mrs Dewey, was attacked. She was able to yell for help and the attacker fled. Bloodhounds found a man, Jerry Ingram, 8miles from the scene of the attack and he was lynched. | |||
Unidentified Man | White | Okay | Wagoner County | Oklahoma | March 19, 1922 | Body of a man chained/tied to a tree was discovered in the Arkansas River near Okay, Oklahoma. He was wearing clothes of "an excellent grade" and had a handkerchief with the initial "B" | |||
Tompkins, George | 19 | African American | Indianapolis | Marion | Indiana | 1922 | No Accusation Made | Memorial Service Marked the 100th Anniversary of the Event in 2022[350] | |
60 | African-American | Gulfport | Harrison County | Mississippi | March 22, 1922 | Ran "a house of ill fame" | Hanged | ||
McKinley "Snap" Curry, H. Varney (or Johnnie Cornish), Mose Jones, Tom Cornish |
| African-American | Kirvin | Freestone County | Texas | May 6, 1922 | Murder of white, 17-year-old Eula Ausley | The two white men, Claude and Audey Prowell, who were initially arrested, were released and the sheriff released a statement that they were not involved in the murder of Eula Ausley.[2] Author Monte Akers in his book "Flames After Midnight: Murder, Vengeance and the Desolation of a Texas Community", concluded that McKinley "Snap" Curry conspired with Claude and Audey Prowell to kill and murder Eula Ausley and that Mose Jones and Johnny Cornish were innocent. Tom Cornish was killed on May 8, 1922. | |
25 | African-American | Plantersville | Grimes County | Texas | May 17, 1922 | Assault of white woman | Burned | ||
15 | African-American | Washington County | Georgia | May 18, 1922 | Murder of white woman | Burned | |||
African-American | Texarkana | Bowie County | Texas | May 19, 1922 | Murder | Hanged (body burned) | |||
20 | African-American | Conroe | Montgomery County | Texas | May 20, 1922 | Assault of white 14-year-old | Burned | ||
60 | African-American | Alleyton | Colorado County | Texas | May 20, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | Hanged | ||
African-American | Bryan | Brazos County | Texas | May 23, 1922 | Stealing cattle | Beaten to death | |||
23 | African-American | Waco | McLennan County | Texas | May 26, 1922 | Assault of white woman and murder of her companion | Shot (body burned) | ||
African-American | Brentwood | Wayne County | Georgia | May 28, 1922 | Manslaughter | Shot (body burned) | |||
African-American | Summit | Pike County | Mississippi | June 20, 1922 | Assault of a young white woman | Hanged | |||
17 | African-American | New Dacus | Montgomery County | Texas | June 23, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | Hanged | ||
African-American | Lanes Bridge | Liberty County | Georgia | July 1, 1922 | Assault of employer's wife | Hanged | |||
African-American | Belhaven | Beaufort County | North Carolina | July 5, 1922 | Rioting | Tankard was shot to death after riots following a July 4 celebration by J.F. Burrows who was deputized to help put down the riots. | |||
African-American | Benton | Bossier Parish | Louisiana | July 7, 1922 | Shot two Black women | Joe Pemberton was in the Bossier Parish jail in Benton, Louisiana for shooting two Black women. A white mob surrounded the jail, overpowered Deputy Sheriff J.A. Wilson, and took Pemberton. His body was later found hanging from a tree in Black Bayou swamp, 2miles from Benton. | |||
62 | African-American | Miller County | Georgia | July 14, 1922 | Consensual relationship with 26-year-old Ethel Skittel | Hanged by white mob. After the event, the Miller County Liberal wrote that "hundreds of the citizens throughout the county regret this lynching. Many have said [Ethel Skittel] was guiltier than Jake." | |||
29-years-old during the lynching attempt | African-American | Lake Jennie Jewel | Orange County | Florida | July 19, 1922 | Shooting death of two white men | According to contemporary sources, Mack was reported to be lynched. However, he was able to escape and died at 67-years-old in Ohio. | ||
African-American | Moultrie | Colquitt County | Georgia | July 24, 1922 | Assaulting a white 15-year-old girl | Three men had seized William Anderson and chained him inside a car. While waiting to drop him off to the police outside the Moultrie, Georgia jail, an unknown man jumped in and sped off. Andersen's bullet-ridden body was later found a few miles away next to the Ellenton, Georgia Reedy Creek Baptist Church. The Colquit county grand Jury was called into special session to investigate the people behind the lynching but was quickly adjourned due to lack of evidence. | |||
50 | African-American | Hempstead County | Arkansas | July 28, 1922 | Fight over West using a drinking cup | The newspaper The Little River News reported that West was probably shot and killed "after he flourished a pistol and threatened the men who intended only to whip him." | |||
28 | African-American | Hot Springs | Garland County | Arkansas | August 1, 1922 | Killing of Maurice Connelly (insurance solicitor) in a burglary gone wrong | A white mob, some 500 strong, broke into the jail and seized Gilbert Harris after overpowering the police in the public square (actually a triangle shape in front of the Como hotel). Even though Harris had a history of break and enters, he professed his innocence. The mob later took the corpse back and laid it in the jail. | ||
35 | African-American | Holton | Bibb County | Georgia | August 2, 1922 | Manslaughter of Deputy Sheriff Walter C. Byrd | Beaten, tied to a tree, riddled with bullets and lit on fire. Corpse was displayed in the Black community of Macon. | ||
African-American | Swansboro | Onslow County | North Carolina | August 6, 1922 | Murder of Cy Jones | Onslow Sheriff claims Blackwell wasn't lynched, rather run out of town. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary report claims he was shot. | |||
35 | African-American | Lambert | Quitman County | Mississippi | August 23, 1922 | Assault on a white woman, Mrs. Bruce White | Mr Bruce White had hired Steelman for some work. White and Steelman ate breakfast at White's house and then walked to the work site. Steelman made an excuse and returned to White's house where he allegedly attacked Mrs. Bruce White. Her yelling alerted a Black field hand who had run away after Mrs. White started screaming. A mob then hunted him down and, even though he had a gun, were able to capture him. John Steelman was tied to a stake wood piled around him and then the pyre was ignited by Mrs. Bruce White. | ||
25 | African-American | Bossier Parish | Bossier Parish | Louisiana | August 30, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | When Thomas Rivers was arrested, the community threatened to lynch him. He was being moved to the Benton jail when a mob overpowered the officers and took Rivers. His body was found hanging near the Shreveport-Bossier highway about 12miles from Shreveport, Louisiana. | ||
White | Mer Rouge | Morehouse Parish | Louisiana | August 1922 | Spoke out against KKK activities | Ku-Klux Klan kidnapped the men on August 24, 1922, and the bodies were discovered in nearby Lake Lafourche on December 24, 1922. | |||
African-American | Winder | Barrow County | Georgia | September 2, 1922 | Attack of a white woman, 19-year-old Ms. Violet Wood, daughter of Rev. John H. Wood | Ms. Violet Wood was visiting the house of her aunt, Ms. Pearl Saunders, when she interrupted a burglary allegedly undertaken by Jim Reed Long. Startled to find Wood in the house, he struck her with an iron bar. After his arrest, a mob quickly gathered in Winder, demanding that Long be handed over. Sheriff Camp was able to get Long out of the Barrows county jail in Winder but when he was taking him to Atlanta, he was stopped on the roads, overpowered and Jim Reed Long was taken by a mob and hanged. Some reports say by the Ku-Klux Klan. News media of the time repeated that the lynching was "orderly conducted." | |||
African-American | Newton | Newton County | Texas | September 7, 1922 | Johnson was twice tried with killing a Turpentine camp foreman four years earlier. | Hanged from a tree | |||
African-American |
|
| Georgia | September 28, 1922 | Assault of a white woman | A mob had gathered in Sandersville, and so Deputy Sheriff Davis and Nixon were driving Johnson to Wrightsville when a posse of 50 men overpowered the deputies and seized Johnson. Hanged on the Cedar Creek bridge, his body was riddled with bullets. | |||
African-American | Abilene | Taylor and Jones Counties | Texas | September 28, 1922 | Unknown | Shot in his hotel room by four people | |||
African-American | Montgomery | Montgomery County | Alabama | October 3, 1922 | A race riot broke out on October 3, 1922, after African-American Joe Terell was arrested in connection with the murder of George Tilson who in turn was searching for a Black assailant that killed white policeman Albert Sansom. African-American Edward Pearl was killed in the race rioting. The report on the lynchings of 1922 by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, lists John Brown as being lynched on October 3, 1922, in Montgomery, but newspaper reports write that he was seized, questioned and released. | ||||
White | Camden | Benton County | Tennessee | October 20, 1922 | Manslaughter of Connie Hartley, nephew of Ed Hartley | Shot | |||
Hispanic | Weslaco | Hidalgo County | Texas | November 11, 1922 | Fight with co-worker, J.L. Sullivan, in which Sullivan's arm was broken | Shot | |||
African-American | Madison | Madison County | Florida | December 5, 1922 | Shot | ||||
Wright, Charles, Albert Young and an unidentified Black man | African-American | Florida | 1922 | Murder of white teacher | Escaped convict Wright was taken from sheriff by a large mob, tortured into confession, and burned at the stake. Two other suspects were shot and hanged. Several African American community buildings and homes were burned in the Perry race riot.[351] [352] | ||||
25 | African-American | Morrilton | Conway County | Arkansas | December 9, 1922 | Murder of Granville Edward Farish | Deputy sheriff Granville Edward Farish was trying to collect a debt from Smith when a scuffle broke out. In the fight, Farish smashed a bottle over Smith's head whereupon Smith shot him in the stomach. Smith was arrested and a white mob soon gathered. When officials tried to move Smith to another jail, he was seized, hanged from a tree, and his body riddled with bullets. When the body was taken to the undertaker, the mob burst in to view the body. | ||
25 | African-American | Streetman | Freestone and Navarro Counties | Texas | December 11, 1922 | Accused of assaulting white 20-year-old Miss Florine Grayson | Florine Grayson could not positively identify George Gay when he was brought before her. The mob ignored this, chained him to a tree and shot him around 300 times. | ||
Scott, James T. | 35–56 | African-American | Missouri | 1923 | Assaulting a 14 year old white girl | Accused of detaining and beating the daughter of a professor at the University of Columbia, where Scott worked as a janitor. Lynched by a mob of over 100 men. Memorial plaque erected in 2016.[353] [354] | |||
Wilson, Abraham | African-American | Florida | 1923 | Cattle stealing | Serving 6-month sentence when taken from jail and hanged.[355] | ||||
45 | African-American | Florida | 1923 | Sexual assault of a white woman | Falsely accused, tortured, shot, then hung by white mob which went on a rampage burning homes and killing several other people. | ||||
Simmons, Henry | African-American | Florida | June 7, 1923 | Killing of police officer | A police officer stopped "three negroes in regards to the butchering of a turtle" on June 3, 1923. After a struggle, the officer was shot and described the assailants before dying 3 days later. A lynch mob first seized James Sands, who was beaten before one of the mob declared he was "not the one". Sands was released. The mob later seized Henry Simmons from a boarding house in West Palm Beach. His body was found the morning of June 7, 1923, at a location on Barton Road on Palm Beach Island, a short distance from The Breakers. The body was shot multiple times and hung from a tree close to where the officer was shot. https://pbcremembrance.org/history.htmhttps://pbcremembrance.org/PDF/Henry_Simmons_Article.pdf | ||||
Bell, William | 33 | African-American | Illinois | 1924 | Accosting two girls | Beaten to death by a mob in a Jewish neighborhood. The girls, when questioned by police, admitted they were unsure if Bell was in fact the same man who had accosted them. The only lynching in Chicago history. | |||
15 | African-American | Tennessee | 1924 | Robbed a grocery store and shot the white owner. | Taken out of his hospital room in Nashville and lynched by a mob of masked men where he was first caught.[356] | ||||
African-American | Mississippi | 1925 | Rape | Burned at the stake[357] | |||||
Jordan, James | Adult | African-American | Virginia | 1925 | Married woman "attacked" in her home. | The case and two others helped lead to the Virginia Anti-Lynching Law of 1928, the first state law against lynching.[358] [359] | |||
Willie Washington | African-American | Florida | 1925 | Murdered by a local policeman, Washington's body was later displayed in the county courthouse.[360] | |||||
Marshall, Robert | African-American | Price | Carbon | Utah | 1925 | Accused of killing a white guard | The allegation was based on the testimony of two young boys who said they saw a black man running from the scene of the crime. Marshall was lynched in front of a crowd of 1,000. When the sheriff arrived, he cut Marshall down and was putting him in the car when Marshall made noise indicating he was alive. The mob shouted to lynch him again. Afterward, Marshall's body was put on display in the funeral parlor and photos of the lynching were sold door-to-door for 25 cents. In 1998, the community provided a headstone for him.[361] | ||
Buddington, George | 55 | African-American | Florida | 1926 | Attempted to collect debt from a white woman at gunpoint | Mob broke lock on jail, took Buddington out of town and shot him to death.[362] | |||
Four Mexican Americans and an Austrian man | Latino, White (Austrian) | Texas | 1926 | Murder | All five were shot after an ambush.[363] | ||||
African-American | Florida | July 11, 1926 | Rape of a white girl | Taken from law officers and lynched. No attempt to verify crime nor identify murderers: last known lynching in Brevard County[364] [365] [366] | |||||
Nelson, Samuel | African-American | Delray Beach | Palm Beach | Florida | September 26–27, 1926 | Assaulting a white woman | Nelson was arrested on September 26, 1926 in Delray Beach on charges of assaulting a white woman in Miami. The following morning, the jail door was found torn open and the cell was empty. Later, a body identified as Nelson was found on a canal bank four miles west, with multiple gunshot wounds. The Delray Beach Chief of Police later testified to the City Council that they had refused to release the prisoner to a stranger claiming to be an official from Miami; however, the prisoner was counted in the cell as of midnight on September 26. The Police department was declared "free of blame of neglect" by the City Council. The culpability of the accused suspect for the crime in Miami, 55 miles away, was called into question as a major hurricane had struck eight days earlier, hampering travel. https://pbcremembrance.org/history.htm | ||
Lowman, Bertha, Lowman, Demon, Lowman, Clarence | 27, 22, 14 | African-American | Aiken vicinity | Aiken | South Carolina | October 8, 1926 | Alleged murder of the sheriff | After the second day of a retrial, they were taken from the jail to the outskirts of Aiken and shot, with a large crowd in attendance. | |
61 | White | 1926 | None | Murdered in part because of a fencing dispute, but also to steal money thought to be stashed on his property.[367] | |||||
Payne, Tom[368] | African-American | Willis | Texas | data-sort-value=1927 | February 1, 1927 | Arrested in connection with a suspected assault and murder, he was taken by a white mob and hanged from a tree.[369] | |||
Carter, John[370] | 38 | African-American | Arkansas | 1927 | None | No charges filed; "mob" responsible. | |||
Fox, Jim[371] | African-American | Louisville | Mississippi | data-sort-value=1927 | June 26, 1927 | Murder | Arrested along with brother Mark in connection with a suspected murder of a white man, he was taken by a white mob, tied to a telephone pole with barbed wire, and burned.[372] | ||
African-American | Louisville | Mississippi | data-sort-value=1927 | June 26, 1927 | Murder | Arrested along with brother Jim in connection with a suspected murder of a white man, he was taken by a white mob, tied to a telephone pole with barbed wire, and burned. | |||
White | Texas | December 23, 1927 | Bank robbery | Robbed a bank with three accomplices while dressed as Santa Claus. Ensuing shootout(s), manhunt, capture, and lynch mob. His hands and feet were bound, and he was hanged with rope thrown over a guy-wire between two telephone poles in a vacant lot behind a movie theater. | |||||
Benavides, Rafael | Latino | New Mexico | 1928 | Attacking a white man's wife | Benavides was a Mexican shepherd who was accused by the police to have attacked a white man's wife. The police then went to arrest Benavides and shot him for resisting arrest. They rushed him to the hospital; three men then called the hospital asking if the Mexican was being guarded by authorities which the nurse confirmed he wasn't. The three men later on snuck into the hospital, kidnapped Benavides and hung him from a tree near an abandoned ranch.[373] | ||||
Bearden, James | Black | Mississippi | 1928 | Argued with white men over debt | Dragged behind car, hanged[374] | ||||
Bearden, Stanly | Black | Mississippi | 1928 | Argued with white men over debt | Dragged behind car, hanged | ||||
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown male | African-American | Arkansas | 1930s | Teaching the black children of Marked Tree, Arkansas to read | Burned, sign posted "run niggers run!".[375] | ||||
Wilkins, John H. | African-American | Georgia | April 18, 1930 | Smiling at a white woman | This Pullman Porter was dragged off his train and lynched[376] A protest manifesto mentioning his lynching and two others had a cropped picture of a lynched African American.[377] This cropped photograph is taken from one of an African American lynched/hanged from a telephone pole in a railyard (Georgia(?); it is unknown if the original photo is of Wilkins. | ||||
Green, Allen | 50 | African-American | Walhalla vicinity | Oconee | South Carolina | April 24, 1930 | Allegedly criminally assaulted white woman | After severely injuring the sheriff, the victim was taken from the county jail, tied to a tree outside the city, and shot multiple times by a crowd of about 100 men. | |
Jenkins, Dan | 22 | African-American | Union vicinity | Union | South Carolina | June 21, 1930 | Allegedly raped a white woman | Captured by local citizens and identified by the woman, he was shot by a mob of about 150. The governor had been notified of the potential lynching and ordered out the National Guard, which arrived twenty minutes too late. | |
Grant, George | African-American | Georgia | 1930 | Killing a police officer, and wounding three other people | Sheriff: "I don't know who killed the nigger and I don't give a damn." | ||||
18 | African-American | Indiana | 1930 | Robbery of white couple, homicide, rape | Lynch mob of thousands broke into jail and took Shipp, Abram Smith and James Cameron. The mob hung the first two up in a tree. Cameron was released by the mob but was convicted of accessory and served time, later becoming an activist and founding the America's Black Holocaust Museum. | ||||
19 | African-American | Indiana | 1930 | Robbery of white couple, homicide, rape | Lynch mob of thousands broke into jail and took Smith, Thomas Shipp and James Cameron. The mob hung the first two up in a tree. Cameron was released by the mob but was convicted of accessory and served time, later becoming an activist and founding the America's Black Holocaust Museum.[378] | ||||
Moore, Oliver | 29 | African-American | North Carolina | August 19, 1930 | Alleged sexual improprieties with two young white girls | Hanged and shot by mob who broke into jail[379] | |||
African-American | Texas | 1930 | Pled guilty to criminal assault. | Courthouse stormed (during trial), burned down with Hughes locked in vault, fire hoses cut. Body then dragged behind car and hanged, and fire lit under it. Followed by riot and destruction of black businesses. Two persons received two-year sentences for violence.[380] | |||||
Parker, John | African-American | Arkansas | 1931 | Stealing some peaches | < < | ||||
Mendiola, Higinio | 46 | Latino | Texas | 1931 | None | A mob of 7 people hung Higinio from a tree near his home to make it appear that he had committed suicide in order to collect insurance for his death.[381] | |||
African-American | Missouri | 1931 | Murdering a white woman | Burned to death. National Guard stood by and watched. | |||||
Wise, Mrs. | African-American | Frankfort (Frankford?) | Virginia (West Virginia?) | 1931 | Objected to her daughter being taken out for "rides" with white Klansmen. | ||||
Charles Bannon | 22 | White | Schafer | Williams County | North Dakota | 1931 | Murdering his employer and family | Mob broke into jail and hung him from a bridge | |
23 | African-American | Maryland | 1931 | Killing his employer | Taken forcibly from hospital. No indictment despite numerous witnesses. | ||||
Tillis, Dave | African-American | Texas | 1932 | "Demanded an accounting from his landlord. Charged with 'entering the bedroom of a white woman'". | |||||
Thompson, Shedrick (also spelled "Shamrock") | 39 | African-American | rural | Virginia | 1932 | Assault and rape. | |||
33 | African-American | South Carolina | June 4–5, 1933 | Striking a white man following an argument | Broken out of jail by a group of men; five white men named in an indictment but none were convicted | ||||
Lawrence, Elizabeth | African-American | rural | Alabama | 1933 | Reprimanding a group of white children | [382] | |||
23 | African-American | Maryland | 1933 | Attempted assault and rape | Grand jury declined to indict any of the lynchers identified by State Police. Last lynching in Maryland. | ||||
Holmes, John, and Thomas Thurmond | 29 27 | White | California | 1933 | An estimated 10,000 people witnessed the lynching. California Governor James Rolph called the act "a fine lesson for the whole nation."[383] | ||||
Micou, Reuben | 65 | African-American | Louisville | Winston | Mississippi | 1933 | Accused of getting into an altercation with a white man. | Abducted from jail by a mob. Micou's injuries suggested he was whipped before being shot multiple times.[384] | date=April 2, 2021 |
23 | African-American | Florida | 1934 | Rape and murder of 19 year old white female | Lynchers said he "didn't deserve a trial". Castrated, forced to consume his genitals, stabbed, burned with hot irons, toes and fingers removed, hanged, body tied behind automobile. Followed by Marianna riots. Important case in helping to bring lynching to an end. | ||||
Johnson, Robert | 40 | African-American | Florida | 1934 | Assault on white woman | Investigators determined charges against Johnson were meritless, then released him to a lynch mob.[385] [386] | |||
Higginbotham, Elwood | 28 | African-American | Mississippi | 1935 | Killed in self-defense a white man that attacked him after he complained about the white man's cattle running over his field. | Killed when jury did not bring back guilty verdict promptly. Widow and extended family immediately left Mississippi.[387] | |||
Bert Moore and Dooley Morton | 26 | African-American | Mississippi | July 13, 1935 | [388] | ||||
(also found as Rubin Stacy) | 37 | African-American | Florida | July 19, 1935 | Threatening and frightening a white woman with a pen knife | Law enforcement officer; grand jury refused to indict.[389] [390] [391] In 2022, a two-mile stretch of Davie Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale was renamed Rubin Stacy Memorial Boulevard.[392] [393] | |||
Johnson, Clyde | California | August 3, 1935 | Killing of Police Chief Frank R. Daw[394] | Dunsmuir Police Chief Frank Daw was shot and killed on July 29, 1935, when he confronted an armed robbery suspect. Johnson, the alleged perpetrator, was removed from the Siskiyou County Jail and was hung from a tree near Yreka.[395] | |||||
African-American | Mississippi | 1937 | Pair suspected in the robbery and shooting of a shopkeeper. | Tied to a tree and tortured with blowtorches to extract a confession. McDaniels shot, Townes burned alive. Photos of the lynching made the national media.[396] | |||||
Goodin, Albert | 35 | African-American | Tennessee | Aug 16, 1937 | Shooting a police officer | Taken from sheriff by 100 men and lynched from bridge over Beaver Creek; body recovered from river by Sheriff Deputies.[397] | |||
Lynching of Richard Ponder and Ernest Hawkins | 18 | African-American | Florida | July 19, 1937 | Broke into a store, accused of attacking a police officer with a knife | Locked up in Leon County Jail after confessing to breaking and entering; four masked men kidnapped the two from the jail, shot them dozens of times, and put warnings to other African-Americans where the bodies laid.[398] | |||
African-American | Tennessee | 1940 | Registering to vote and starting an NAACP chapter. | Last reported lynching in Tennessee.[399] | |||||
26 | African-American | Alabama | 1940 | Failure to address a white cop as "Mr." | |||||
Green, Ernest, and Charlie Lang | 14, 15 | African-American | Shubuta ("hanging bridge") | Mississippi | 1942 | Attempted rape. | [400] | ||
26 | African-American | Scott | Missouri | 1942 | Home invasion, attempted murder, attempted rape, resisting arrest | Around 100 black people left Sikeston and never returned.[401] | |||
31 | African-American | Florida | 1943 | Murder of a white man. | Awaiting new trial after conviction overturned on appeal. | ||||
[402] | 15 | African-American | Florida | 1944 | Sending Christmas card with "a note expressing his affection" to a white girl. | Forced to jump to his death in the Suwanee River. Grand jury refused to indict. | |||
Moore's Ford lynchings (George W. and Mae Murray Dorsey; Roger and Dorothy Malcom) | Adults | African-American | Georgia | 1946 | Stabbing of a white man (Roger Malcom) | Huge investigation. 2003 and 2016 books on this investigation. No one charged. | |||
Alton Collier | 26 | African-American | Coronado | San Diego | California | April 27, 1946 | Alleged stabbing of a white sailor (Freddie Leroy Johnson) who was part of a crowd already chasing him with weapons to the bow of the boat shouting racial slurs. | Forced off a ferry and left to drown. Ruled a suicide until 2024 when the Equal Justice Initiative declared it a lynching.[403] [404] [405] | |
24 | African-American | South Carolina | 1947 | Killing of taxi driver | 31 suspects charged; all acquitted. | ||||
Robert Mallard | 38 | African-American | Lyons, Georgia | Toombs County, Georgia | Georgia | 1948 | Voting and prosperity | Car surrounded by 20 Ku Klux Klan members. Car was shot at with pistols. |
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Council, Lynn | about 19 | African-American | near Raleigh | Wake | North Carolina | 1952 | Robbery | He survived. Newspapers treat it as a lynching. Council has received apologies from the law enforcement agencies involved. | |
Banks, Isadore | 59 | African-American | Arkansas | 1954 | Being prosperous | [406] | |||
14 | African-American | Mississippi | 1955 | Flirting with white woman | Beaten and mutilated before shooting him in the head and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Perpetrators acquitted by all-white jury, then openly admitted they did it. Historical markers shot and defaced 2006–2018.[407] | ||||
Parker, Mack Charles | 22 or 23 | African-American | Bridge over Pearl River between Mississippi and Louisiana | Pearl River | Mississippi | 1959 | Rape and kidnapping of a white woman; charges possibly fabricated. | No one indicted. | |
Chaney, James, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner | 21, 20 and 24 | African-American, White and White | Mississippi | 1964 | Civil rights worker | A federal jury in 1967 convicted the sheriff and six others of conspiracy to violate civil rights; they received minor punishment. A state jury in 2005 found the Ku Klux Klan organizer, Edgar Ray Killen, guilty of three counts of manslaughter; he died in prison. National outrage contributed to passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964. | |||
Morris, Frank | 49–50 | African-American | Ferriday | Concordia | Louisiana | 1964 | "Flirting" with white females | [408] | |
Rembert, Winifred | 19 | African-American | Cuthbert | Randolph | Georgia | 1965 | Fighting with deputy while in jail for stealing car to get away from two men shooting at him. | Survived. As of 2019, Rembert is a successful leatherwork artist. He has had at least two documentary films made about his story.[409] [410] [411] [412] [413] | |
54 | Polish Jew | Michigan | 1975 | None. | Killed by a group of black youths with concrete block during riot. Four of his killers were charged with first-degree murder. |
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gardner, Betty | 33 | African-American | St. Helena Island | Beaufort | South Carolina | 1978 | None (one of the perpetrators hated black people). | Two white men (cousins John Arnold and John Plath) were convicted of Gardner's murder. Arnold and Plath were sentenced to death and executed via lethal injection in 1998. | |
Higdon, Benny; Owens, Robert; and Barreca, Charles | White | Miami | Miami-Dade County | Florida | 1980 | Killed by African American mob during the 1980 Miami riot. | |||
Donald, Michael | 19 | African-American | Mobile | Mobile | Alabama | 1981 | None (Klan looked to kill a black man because accused killer of white policeman got mistrial). | Three Klansmen (Henry Hays, James Knowles, and Benjamin Cox) were convicted of Donald's murder. Henry Hays was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair in 1997. James Knowles and Benjamin Cox were sentenced to life in prison. A civil suit against the United Klans of America caused their bankruptcy. | |
Turks, Willie | 34 | African-American | New York City | Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn | New York | 1982 | Drove through a majority-white neighborhood between his subway maintenance shifts. | Turks and two other black subway employees were attacked by 15 to 20 assailants who shouted racial epithets. Gino Bova, 18 at the time, was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for manslaughter. Justice Sybil Hart Kooper said at the sentencing: "There was a lynch mob on Avenue X that night. The only thing missing was a rope and a tree."[414] [415] | |
Chin, Vincent Jen | 27 | Chinese Asian | Highland Park | Wayne County | Michigan | 1982 | Being Asian during a time when Japan was cutting into the profits of Detroit automakers. | Two white men working for the Chrysler plant, supervisor Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz assaulted Chin outside of a McDonald's with a baseball bat following a brawl that took place at a strip club. A witness described them using anti-Asian racial slurs as they attacked him, ultimately beating him to death. | |
Hawkins, Yusef | 16 | African-American | New York City | East New York, Brooklyn | New York | 1989 | Believed to be attending a party held by a white girl. | Mob of 10 to 30, at least seven with baseball bats chased and beat Hawkins and friends. Hawkins was ultimately shot by Joseph Fama, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1990. Keith Mondello, was acquitted on murder charges but convicted for 12 lessor offenses. Three other men were convicted of crimes while three were charged but not convicted.[416] [417] | |
Rosenbaum, Yankel | 29 | Australian Jew | New York City | Crown Heights, Brooklyn | New York | 1991 | Being Jewish. | Rosenbaum, a student from Australia, was stabbed to death by a mob as part of the Crown Heights riot.[418] Both New York Senator Daniel Moynihan and New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins called the killing a lynching. Dinkins said: "I think that the death of Yankel Rosenbaum was a lynching, as was Yusuf Hawkins. No question. Whatever term one gives to these kinds of vicious murders, that's what it is."[419] | |
Wilson, Christopher | 28 | African-American | Valrico, Florida | Hillsborough County, Florida | Florida | 1993 | None. | Three white men kidnapped Wilson and set him on fire.[420] | |
Byrd Jr., James | 49 | African-American | Jasper | Jasper | Texas | 1998 | None (white supremacists). | Dragged to death behind a car, until his head hit a culvert. Perpetrators convicted; two executed, one to life imprisonment. |
Name | Age | Ethnicity | City | County or Parish | State | Year | Accusation | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
47 | African-American | Mississippi | 2011 | "Stealing" his own car | Beaten, run over with a truck. Driver convicted of murder, ten convicted of hate crimes. Main perpetrator sentenced to life in prison. | ||||
25 | African-American | Satilla Shores | Georgia | 2020 | Burglary (falsely accused) | Chased down and shot. Perpetrators convicted of felony murder and one with malice murder. All perpetrators sentenced to life in prison. |
Kentucky