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Story
August 2, 1906
The Waxahachie Daily Light
Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas
What is this article about?
Allen Mathis, a Black man accused of criminally assaulting Miss Ethel McLain, was swiftly tried, convicted of guilty plea, and legally hanged in Mayfield, Kentucky, on August 1, within 50 minutes, despite mob attempts to lynch him.
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Full Text
TRIED AND EXECUTED
Prompt Action Taken In the Case of Allen Mathis,
SOON TRIED IN COURT
In Less Than an Hour After Arriving From Louisville the Prisoner Was Convicted and Put to Death,
Mayfield, Ky., Aug. 1.-The hanging of Allen Mathis, the negro who criminally assaulted Miss Ethel McLain last Wednesday night, took place at 8 o'clock Tuesday night in a legal manner in the yard of the county jail. Fully 10,000 people were on the scene, but only a few hundred could see the execution, though almost the entire fence surrounding the scaffold had been torn down by the enraged citizens while the trial was going on. It was only fifty minutes from the time the jury was sworn in until the negro was pronounced dead.
Mathis arrived here at 6:40 o'clock Tuesday evening from Louisville in charge of Deputy Sheriffs Oscar Elmore and John Galloway and the militia company of Hopkinsville. The local militia met the train, and the negro was marched to the courthouse. Several attempts were made to seize the negro, and he was twice in possession of the infuriated mob. The soldiers quickly surrounded the negro, and a number of members of the Hopkinsville company were compelled to draw their guns and threaten to use them unless the mob fell back. The negro would have met his death by lynching, but the mob decided to let the law inflict the punishment after it proceeded that far.
The largest number of people ever seen on the streets of Mayfield were here Tuesday night, and there were rumors that another negro in jail from Hickman county, charged with the same offense, would be lynched, but it was understood that he had been spirited away.
Mathis was carried upstairs in the big court room before Judge Bugg, who was in readiness, and at 7:15 o'clock the jury had been selected and sworn in. The judge then asked the negro if he had anything to say. He said: "I want some one to pray for me."
The court appointed W. S. Foy, a local attorney, to represent the defendant, and after a minute or two in consultation it was agreed that Mathis should plead guilty. When the judge asked him, "guilty or not guilty?" he responded "guilty."
The jurors were ordered to their room, and after being out twenty minutes, they returned with a verdict of guilty, fixing punishment at death.
Prompt Action Taken In the Case of Allen Mathis,
SOON TRIED IN COURT
In Less Than an Hour After Arriving From Louisville the Prisoner Was Convicted and Put to Death,
Mayfield, Ky., Aug. 1.-The hanging of Allen Mathis, the negro who criminally assaulted Miss Ethel McLain last Wednesday night, took place at 8 o'clock Tuesday night in a legal manner in the yard of the county jail. Fully 10,000 people were on the scene, but only a few hundred could see the execution, though almost the entire fence surrounding the scaffold had been torn down by the enraged citizens while the trial was going on. It was only fifty minutes from the time the jury was sworn in until the negro was pronounced dead.
Mathis arrived here at 6:40 o'clock Tuesday evening from Louisville in charge of Deputy Sheriffs Oscar Elmore and John Galloway and the militia company of Hopkinsville. The local militia met the train, and the negro was marched to the courthouse. Several attempts were made to seize the negro, and he was twice in possession of the infuriated mob. The soldiers quickly surrounded the negro, and a number of members of the Hopkinsville company were compelled to draw their guns and threaten to use them unless the mob fell back. The negro would have met his death by lynching, but the mob decided to let the law inflict the punishment after it proceeded that far.
The largest number of people ever seen on the streets of Mayfield were here Tuesday night, and there were rumors that another negro in jail from Hickman county, charged with the same offense, would be lynched, but it was understood that he had been spirited away.
Mathis was carried upstairs in the big court room before Judge Bugg, who was in readiness, and at 7:15 o'clock the jury had been selected and sworn in. The judge then asked the negro if he had anything to say. He said: "I want some one to pray for me."
The court appointed W. S. Foy, a local attorney, to represent the defendant, and after a minute or two in consultation it was agreed that Mathis should plead guilty. When the judge asked him, "guilty or not guilty?" he responded "guilty."
The jurors were ordered to their room, and after being out twenty minutes, they returned with a verdict of guilty, fixing punishment at death.
What sub-type of article is it?
Crime Story
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Crime Punishment
Justice
What keywords are associated?
Swift Trial
Execution
Lynching Threat
Criminal Assault
Guilty Plea
Mayfield Kentucky
What entities or persons were involved?
Allen Mathis
Ethel Mclain
Judge Bugg
W. S. Foy
Oscar Elmore
John Galloway
Where did it happen?
Mayfield, Ky.
Story Details
Key Persons
Allen Mathis
Ethel Mclain
Judge Bugg
W. S. Foy
Oscar Elmore
John Galloway
Location
Mayfield, Ky.
Event Date
Aug. 1
Story Details
Allen Mathis, accused of criminally assaulting Miss Ethel McLain, arrived from Louisville, faced mob threats, pleaded guilty in a swift trial starting at 7:15 PM, was convicted in 20 minutes, and hanged at 8 PM in the county jail yard.