Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/710

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are ruthlessly swept aside by the frenzy of a mob, which thrusts the criminal, or supposed criminal, into eternity; and in this way the rude instincts of savage justice, which call for retaliation by personal injury to the wrongdoer, are satisfied. While lynchings are often the outcome of crimes other than murder, nevertheless the infliction of capital punishment by the mob is usually asso- ciated with the violation of the Mosaic command, "Thou shalt not kill" the mob justifying its action, in part at least (even as does the state), by the command that "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed" (Gen. 9:6).

It is sometimes claimed that the great majority of lynchings are caused by a " single crime," one more revolting than mur- der ; but the claim is false. An examination of the statistics of the Chicago Tribune the only statistics that have been carefully kept for a number of years proves this conclusively. There were 1 07 lynchings in 1899 103 of them in the South. Forty-four of these persons were accused of murder, 1 1 of complicity in mur- der, 1 1 of rape, and 6 of attempted rape. In 1 898 there were 1 27 lynchings 1 18 in the South. Of these victims 13 were suspected of murder, 61 were accused of murder, 16 of rape, 7 of attempted rape, and I of complicity in rape. One hundred and sixty-six persons were lynched in 1897 all but 20 of them in the South. Sixty-nine of these were accused of murder, I of concealing mur- der, 23 of rape, and 9 of attempted rape. The figures for these three years taken together show that 50 per cent, of the victims of lynch law were accused of crimes connected with murder, and 1 8 per cent, of rape.

Of the crimes alleged as the immediate cause of lynching, murder, therefore, is the chief ; but the recourse to lawlessness on account of the crime of murder has so brutalized large num- bers of men that they have not hesitated to resort to lynching for minor crimes, or even for " bad reputation."

During the fourteen years, 1886-99 inclusive, there were 2,224 lynchings in the United States, and 1,559 legal executions ; or, stating it in another way, for every two men who were legally executed three were lynched. In the same period the total number of murders and homicides was 86,825. The largest