By Mob Rule in 1899
The Tragic Fate of Frank Embree and the Denial of Justice in 1899
​The struggle for equal protection under the law in American history includes many heartbreaking instances where mob violence replaced formal legal procedure. One deeply disturbing example took place in Fayette, Missouri, during the late nineteenth century. On July 22, 1899, a young Black man named Frank Embree was brutally murdered by a large vigilante group before he ever had the chance to present his defense in a court of law.
​Roughly one month prior to his death, nineteen year old Embree was arrested following allegations that he had assaulted a young white female. Legal proceedings were formally initiated, and he was scheduled to face trial on July 22. However, local residents grew unwilling to allow the judicial process to run its course. Driven by prejudice and impatience, an angry white crowd gathered to intercept the young prisoner and take the law into their own hands.
​While law enforcement officers were transferring Embree to the courthouse for his scheduled trial, the mob ambushed the transport. The captors overpowered the officers, pulled Embree from custody, and forced him into a wagon. They transported him directly to the rural location where the alleged incident had occurred, where a gathering of more than one thousand onlookers had already assembled to watch the events unfold.
​At the scene, the vigilantes attempted to force a confession through severe physical torture. They stripped Embree and subjected him to a horrific public beating. Despite enduring over one hundred lashes, the young man initially refused to yield. Eventually, overwhelmed by excruciating pain, he agreed to speak. Rather than begging for his life, he pleaded with the crowd to end his suffering quickly.
​Covered in wounds and completely deprived of a fair legal defense, Embree was hanged from a nearby tree shortly after speaking. Even though published photographic evidence clearly captured the exposed faces of numerous participants in the mob, law enforcement authorities took no action. No members of the crowd were ever indicted, arrested, or held accountable for his murder.
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