Reckoning With Racist ‘Lynch Law’ and Rape Charges, a Century Later
States Like Virginia Are Reexamining Long-Ago Cases on the Path Toward Redress and Redemption
This piece publishes alongside the Zócalo/Mellon Foundation program “How Does Confronting Our History Build a Better Future?” Read a summary of the event and watch the discussion here.
On July 12, 1898 John Henry James’ body, riddled with bullets, hanged from a locust tree. The Virginia man had been in the custody of the Albemarle County sheriff, awaiting grand jury action on a rape allegation, when a mob of 150 people kidnapped and killed him.
James, the story went, sexually assaulted one Julia Hotopp. (I belabor …
