Moore v. Dempsey

Facts of the Case

On the night of September 30, 1919, a group of African American sharecroppers met in a church in Hoop Spur, Arkansas (near Elaine, Arkansas), to organize a chapter of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America. Although the media and prosecutor later claimed that the group was planning insurrection against the local White community, some contemporary historians now believe that meeting was the beginning of a labor union that was intent on suing the local farmers for various social and work-related issues. Robert Hill, organizer of the meeting, had also organized the union and had contacted a White attorney, U. S. Bratton, to represent the union in litigation against the local White landowners. During that meeting, several shots were fired into the church by a passing car occupied by police officer W. A. Adkins and railroad security guard Charles Pratt, as well as an African American informant. The men inside the church returned fire; Adkins was killed and Pratt was wounded.

Over the course of the next day, this event resulted in a chaotic free-for-all of shootings, beatings, and arrests that fractured this small town and resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people, five of whom were White men. Governor Charles Brough requested and deployed federal military personnel into the area to quell the “insurrection” and thereby imposed martial law on the area. He also appointed the Committee of Seven to investigate the “insurrection.” When order was restored, several hundred African American men were arrested; 79 were eventually sentenced to prison, 12 of whom received the death penalty.

The trials of the arrested men began immediately. An angry mob gathered outside the courthouse, and lynchings were threatened for any defendant not found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty, where that defendant had been charged with the killing of any White man. As the federal troops stood guard around the courthouse, the mob was placated with promises by a few members of the Committee of Seven that those defendants found guilty of murder would be executed. Several African American witnesses were tortured to force them to make incriminating statements that were used to convict all 12 capital defendants. The remaining 67 defendants were given prison sentences of up to 21 years in prison each.

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