William "Froggie" James, an African-American man, was lynched and his dead body mutilated on November 11, 1909 by a mob in Cairo, Illinois after he was charged with the rape and murder of 23-year-old shop clerk Anna Pelley.
James was denied due process and killed before the police investigation had been completed. The townspeople of Cairo formed a mob and murdered him, along with a second prisoner from the town jail whose trial had been delayed. The lynching drew crowds of thousands, and led the Illinois State Legislature to pass a series of anti-lynch and anti-mob laws that led to major reforms throughout the Midwest involving the sentencing and protections for African American people in Illinois. The lynching also mobilized advocacy groups in the state to push for more legal protections of African-American communities in smaller towns.
Background
Cairo, Illinois, had been experiencing a surge of racial tension due to a crime wave at the end of 1909. The town police force was lethargic due in large part to the town economy being primarily based on vice-related activity. Underground liquor establishments were common, and prostitution brought in considerable income. Most of the town's crime occurred in "low-dens" of the city, and involved organized crime. Racial tensions had been relatively low before the crime wave began. With the police force acting very slowly, the mob assembled and took matters into their own hands.
Anti-lynching legislation
Years before James's lynching, the Illinois State Legislature implemented a series of anti-lynching laws to curb the racial tensions that had been brewing throughout the state. In 1901 alone, there were 135 lynchings in Illinois. Anti-lynching bureaus formed to assemble political capital to pass anti-lynching laws. While anti-lynching proponents met considerable resistance, civil rights leaders in Chicago, such as Ida B. Wells, gained significant ground in drafting anti-lynching laws. These leaders were able to gain the support of Illinois Governor Charles Deneen, who was imperative in drafting the 1905 anti-lynch laws passed in Illinois. Deneen gained support from black voters, who saw him as being on their side. While most of the state supported lynching laws, smaller towns did not. Lynching was seen as a sort of "peoples' justice", as river towns became increasingly embroiled in vice-related activity. The laws were laxly enforced in areas where lynchings ran rampant. Police were overwhelmed with regulating the influx of organized crime, mostly revolving around prostitution and smuggling of alcohol. Mob action took precedence when police action failed to keep pace with the sentiments of the community.
Events
Stacy Pratt McDermott's 1999 article "'An Outrageous Proceeding': A Northern Lynching and the Enforcement of Anti-Lynching Legislation in Illinois, 1905–1910" analyzes the events leading to James's final moments. Pelley's twisted and bruised dead body was found gagged with a cloth in an alley on the morning of November 9. The police chief sent for bloodhounds and used them that day. The dogs led authorities to arrest five people: James, Arthur Alexander, Sam Mosby, Georgia Cooper, and another woman identified only by the surname Green. James and Alexander were the primary suspects.
"James had no alibi for the hour between five and six o'clock on November 8, the time which the coroner's jury thought the murder to have taken place. The flour sack that Green had allegedly been washing upon her arrest matched the gag found in Pelley's mouth. Cooper's alleged statement that she washed James's bloodstained clothes on the night of the murder and James's muscular build added to the limited evidence."