The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1931-08-27
Law Enforcers Hardest
On COlored People

semhled data IN the 81 PAGES Of
the report. one finds PAGE alter page
81 accounts OF rank injustice. In
Arkansas the warden OF the peniten-
harY whipped an eighteen-year-old
eelared boy over period OF eight
days in order TO make him confess
and because he VAS a mean hard
boiled Niger : In Balzoni. Missis=
sippi the sheriff caused fellow
prisoner 10 beat Negro under ar
- lesl sliia ,ia'h iinlsiiea the 3op q
mining nm s33iess u. sefeieis
pp'as nm WIN hH9e'eo ie"'hz
ct s'iaP'
Mississippi Nnter Cure
The investigators ef The commits
sion found two 1udlciaiy authen-
tiealed cases Of Furnishing eolored
prisoners with the se=ealled water
nre In mississippi. Quoting from
ne LANGUAGE OF lnuee III one 81
these cases, the report reads, ME
seme OF The men, white, stood upon
his feet, Gilbert. heavy man. stood
With enc loot entirely upon me an
pellant 5 efeast, ana the other loot
entirely upon his neck. While III
that position what Is described rs
The water cure was administered
% him in an effort to eNtort con
fession rs to where the money was
nladeh. Inc wafer euro appeafs To
nave consisted ei pouring wafer
rom upper ihto tae hose VI ei'e
'pp't''"' :" az - sti .iiet - - -,
."Ve'9h fa,o ~ - -, -
% sePa - u" 10 - -.
t'u..'.'Vs 49,
eo"n 'i'' l'seo 'ne '''''..
Third nepfee Ased IN Norm
Tue commission lenha lhal the
thlrd degree was nsea ID tue MI Il
aud was esneeiallY widespread IN
New YORK ells. IN lhai city. II wiz
learned from the data lnfhlshea Inc
commission by the voluntary run
he Defenders tohnelllee, tllai one
out ot every Tour applleahls lof mem
from TINS committee colhplalhea OF
police brutality or the ls9 cases
involving como form OF brutality IN
vestigated III 1851 by the voluntary
Public Defenders Committee OF New
York City, 100 were instances oil VI
eious assaults on Negroes. One soy
enteen year old Negro boy vas
hlaekjaeked Tor twenty minutes III
Harlem station house. Another was
clubbod until his leg was hfolteh.
Rubter hose, black1aeks, and nun
ends OF reyolVers were USED mus
criminately ON both men ana W.
men. 81
Methods of Torture
Cases too numerous 10 mention
arc recorded from every state In
| tho South. The report lists twenty
| five types OF physical abuse com
monty used which range from beat
| ing and continued threatening and
questioning to forcing a suspect To
! sleep with corpse. holding him in
communicate. kicking ont his teeth
and forcing him to get drunk.
Trlnl Procedure Unfair
Cases cited In the report show
limo after time that the trial of ae-
cused Negroes amounts To farce
A Negro in oklahoma accused OF
! murdor who had been kept ineom-
municado for month and threaten
cd with lynchings. and had no conn-
sel and no information To his rights
signed n confession AT the district
attorney's office. and on The Same
/ CAV. an nDnF HIltI the iibi MA IN
was filed. pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to death. In three Ken
tuckv murder cases Negroes were
sentenced to death who had been
put on trial either the day counsel
was employed or soon thereafter In
another Kentucky case witnesses for
The defense were not called by the
government and the Negro defend
ant was sentenced to death. In other
cases. where witnesses we're allowed
tho defense. the commission reports
thai threat and coercion were used
To prevent them from giving testi-
mony. Inexensahle use Of inadmis-
sible evidence was another method
used 10 railroad innocent people to
jail and the electric chair, II was
reported.
I'm two confessions of Negroef
FOR murder lOklahoma and West
Virginia. qualified Negroes were de-
liborately excluded from The jury
/ list reads the report Speaking fur