Jordan Hatcher was a 17-year-old slave in Virginia who was rented out by his master to make him money. While working at the Walker & Harris tobacco factory, the overseer began to beat him harshly. After a few moments of this, Jordan wasn't able to deal with the beating and reached for a poker and swung it at the man, who collapsed. He regained consciousness and went home, but died the next day from the blow. Jordan, in fear for his own life, hid, but was found and brought to the courthouse in Richmond. He was convicted of the man's murder and sentenced for execution, but the sentence was commuted by the state governor from execution to sale and transportation, a system by where a slave found guilty of a crime would be sold into much harsher slavery as a result of his crime. Whites began to gather at City Hall to demand he be released to them so they could lynch him. The Virginia Guard had to be deployed to disperse them. Hatcher's case was like many of its time, but is notable because he was able to live on his own, and make his own way. He simply was required to hand over a large portion of his earnings to his master. More notably, because of the system that was in place, the mob was more easily fought because the "slave would be punished."
Sources:
- Jordan Hatcher Case
- Commutation of Jordan Hatcher
- The Case of 17 Year Old Jordan Hatcher
- The Jordan Hatcher Case
As you can see, this is the least amount of information for one of these pieces I have found so far. This one appalls me even though he was not lynched. Because that shows that any state could have stopped a lynching if they'd tried. Certainly any of the cases where the man was in the custody of the government at the time. But because Jordan was considered a white man's property, they protected him better. How is that not something to be upset about?
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