The lynching
Subtitle: the epic courtroom battle that brought down the Klan
By: Laurence Leamer
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 372
ISBN-13: 9780062569196; 9780062458346
Subjects: Wrongful death; Lynching; Race relations; Trials, litigation; Ku Klux Klan (1915- ); Law and legislation; Racism; Assassination; Southern Poverty Law Center; United Klans of America; Liability for human rights violations
Description: "The New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women chronicles the powerful and spellbinding true story of a brutal race-based killing in 1981 and subsequent trials that undid one of the most pernicious organizations in American history--the Ku Klux Klan. On a Friday night in March 1981 Henry Hays and James Knowles scoured the streets of Mobile in their car, hunting for a black man. The young men were members of Klavern 900 of the United Klans of America. They were seeking to retaliate after a largely black jury could not reach a verdict in a trial involving a black man accused of the murder of a white man. The two Klansmen found nineteen-year-old Michael Donald walking home alone. Hays and Knowles abducted him, beat him, cut his throat, and left his body hanging from a tree branch in a racially mixed residential neighborhood. Arrested, charged, and convicted, Hays was sentenced to death--the first time in more than half a century that the state of Alabama sentenced a white man to death for killing a black man. On behalf of Michael's grieving mother, Morris Dees, the legendary civil rights lawyer and cofounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a civil suit against the members of the local Klan unit involved and the UKA, the largest Klan organization. Charging them with conspiracy, Dees put the Klan on trial, resulting in a verdict that would level a deadly blow to its organization. Based on numerous interviews and extensive archival research, The Lynching brings to life two dramatic trials, during which the Alabama Klan's motives and philosophy were exposed for the evil they represent. In addition to telling a gripping and consequential story, Laurence Leamer chronicles the KKK and its activities in the second half the twentieth century, and illuminates its lingering effect on race relations in America today. The Lynching includes sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-358) and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Fists against the earth; title: Part 1: Night of the burning cross. Klan business ; A public display ; Thirteen knots ; "Good job, Tiger" ; A precious enclave ; The Klan's signature ; The value of things ; Bloody nails ; An open casket ; A major injustice ; Missionary work ; Prayers in the night ; A lesser crime ; Black sheep ; A capital offense ; The second-most-hated man ; A matter of justice ; "The forces of evil" ; "Sizzling of the flesh" ; A verdict; title: Part 2: A time of judgment. "Where in the hell" ; Sunday school ; Turning back the tide ; "Who is Shelton?" ; The day of reckoning ; Freedom rides ; A personal brawl ; Riding again ; Eternal vigilance ; The schoolhouse door ; Good working people ; "Seeds of hate" ; A race thing ; Scrawny pine ; A follower of Christ ; A pain in the stomach ; A political prisoner ; Never ; Censored ; Lowering the boom ; Private matters ; Fighting the fight ; A wannabe; title: Part 3: Roll call of justice. "Novel, but unlikely" ; An eye for an eye ; A clear and powerful message ; Natural consequences ; A book of prophecy ; "As you lie, you forget" ; Intruders in the night ; "Blood will flow" ; Shots in the night ; The end of an era ; Sending a signal ; Curveballs ; "Nice job, Daddy" ; Purity of the race ; A jury of one's peers ; Trading places ; "That's my mom" ; Remembrance ; A question of justice ; Death has no hold; title: Where are they now?