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Jesse Washington a teenage African American farmhand was lynched on this date in 1916 in what became known as The Waco Horror
Jesse Washington a teenage African American farmhand was lynched on this date in 1916 in what became known as The Waco Horror. Jesse Washington was a seventeen-year-old African American farmhand who was lynched in the county seat of Waco, Texas, on May 15, 1916, in what became a well-known example of racist lynching. Washington was convicted of raping and murdering Lucy Fryer, the wife of his White employer in rural Robinson, Texas. He was chained by his neck and dragged out of the county court by observers. He was then paraded through the street, all while being stabbed and beaten, before being held down and castrated. He was then lynched in front of Waco's city hall. Washington was accused of raping and murdering his employer's wife after she was found dead. Law enforcement interrogated Jesse Washington, eventually obtaining a confession. Washington was tried for murder in Waco, Texas, in a courtroom filled with furious locals. He entered a guilty plea and was quickly senten...