Body Riddled With Bullets

Case(s)
Source Type: Newspaper
Author: n.a.
Publisher: The Piedmont Journal
Place of publication: Piedmont, AL
Date of publication: 3/30/1907
Transcript:

BODY RIDDLED WITH BULLETS. Negro Who Attempted Assault Is Lynched by Alabama Mob. Cleveland Harding, a negro, who attempted to assault Mrs. Ben F. Rice, near Florence, Ala., Friday, and who was driven off by Mrs. Rice’s shepherd dog, was summarily executed Sunday by his intended victim’s husband and some 200 or 300 sympathisers. Tied to a tree with his arms up, the negro was riddled with bullets, the first shot being fired by Rice, following which it is said every man in the crowd emptied his revolver at the prisoner. It is said that over 1,000 shots were fired. The negro was captured Sunday morning half a mile below town, and was taken before Mrs. Rice, who fainted at sight of him. Upon recovering she fully identified her assailant. Beyond confessing his guilt, Harding had nothing to say, and was stolidly indifferent, it seemed, to his fate. The body was left tied to the tree by the mob, members of which made no attempt to shield their identity. The sheriff overtook the crowd before the lynching, but his appeals were unavailing.

Citation:

“Body Riddled with Bullets.” The Piedmont Journal (Piedmont, AL), March 30, 1907.