# A Sheriff Who Did His Duty

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A sampling of newspaper editorials about Joseph Merrill and his actions to prevent the lynching of an African-American prisoner on June 7, 1901, as collected in the contemporaneous journal Public Opinion
New York Evening Post
Joseph Merrill is a name which was unknown yesterday outside of Carroll county, Georgia, but which today deserves honor throughout the United States. The man who has thus leaped from obscurity into national recognition is the sheriff of his county, and in that capacity had custody of a colored murderer who was to have been executed yesterday. An appeal to the supreme court at the last moment caused a stay of proceedings, and the crowd which had gathered to witness the hanging (June 7) was soon converted into a mob, which assaulted the jail, battered down the outside door, and called upon the sheriff to turn over his prisoner. He refused their demand, ordered them to stop or they would be fired upon, and when they advanced, gave his deputies the order to fire. One man was killed, two others were wounded, and the rest were so demoralized that they fled, while the sheriff telephoned to the governor for troops, which arrived in a few hours and carried the prisoner out of the county for safe keeping. A great service was thus rendered to the cause of civilization by a man who had the courage to do his duty as an official in a crisis, even when it involved shooting at his neighbors. Many a man who has gained a great reputation has shown less heroism in war than was displayed by Joseph Merrill in peace.
Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution
It will be argued that the life of a Negro murderer is not worth the sacrifice, that the sheriff might easily have winked at the work of the mob, and better lives than that of the Negro wretch would have been spared. That sort of argument is entirely beside the question. Other sheriffs have done such things, but for the good name of Carroll it is fortunate that hers is not of that stripe. It was Sheriff Merrill's highest duty as the representative of the law of the state to keep his prisoner from the hands of that mob, and he did his duty, bravely, valiantly. All honor to his conception of his duty and his courage in fulfilling it.
If there were more sheriffs like him, there would be less lynching.
Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal
All honor to Sheriff Merrill, of Carrollton, Ga., who defied the mob that sought to lynch a Negro under his charge. What a contrast to the many cases in which jailers and sheriffs have yielded up their prisoners to lynchers with a willingness that smacked of complicity in the lawlessness. Sheriff Merrill ought to be sustained not only by the armed force of the state, but also by the respect of his fellow-citizens. A dangerous and disagreeable duty has been nobly done.
Washington (D. C.) Star
In this Georgia case, it is easy to cast up the tavern judgment. Why should the sheriff have gone so far? Had not the Negro had a fair trial and been justly convicted? Did he not deserve prompt execution? Was his whole hide worth a single drop of the blood that was shed in the fight against him? But nothing is plainer than that the "obscure sheriff" did his duty.
Boston (Mass.) Herald
A few more sheriffs like Joseph Merrill would do much to make lynchings less popular in the south.
This work was published in 1901 and is anonymous or pseudonymous due to unknown authorship. It is in the public domain in the United States as well as countries and areas where the copyright terms of anonymous or pseudonymous works are 122 years or less since publication.
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