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Jesse Washington
Waco, Texas
May 16, 1916
"This is the barbecue we had last night. My
picture is to the left with a cross over it. Your son,
Joe." A
mentally retarded seventeen year old. Washington confessed to
murdering a white woman for whom he was a farm laborer. A brief trial resumed
with the
murder weapon and his confession. After "four" minutes of
deliberation he was found guilty. He was beaten and dragged to a bridge
spanning the Brazos River. T he crowd roared, "Burn him!" He
was taken
to the public square, beaten with shovels and bricks along the way, to a
crowd
of 15,000 waiting spectators who climbed poles, hung out windows and hoisted
children atop shoulders for a better view. The youth was castrated and
his ears
were cut off (possibly later by souvenir collectors). He was lifted
by a
hoist above the fire and as the flames rose he tried to get away by
climbing the
chains that held him. Members of the mob cut off his fingers as he
attempted to
climb. He was then repeatedly lowered and hoisted into the fire. His body was
then dragged around the City Hall Plaza and seven miles out to a Black
town as a
warning , then the remains were hung for display.

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