Elaine Massacre Aftermath: 12 Black Men Sentenced to Death for Defending Themselves

The Elaine Massacre of 1919 — in which over 100 Black sharecroppers were killed by white mobs after a union meeting — resulted in 12 Black men being sentenced to death and 67 sentenced to prison for 'murder,' while no white participants faced charges. The NAACP challenged the convictions for years; in Moore v. Dempsey (1923), the Supreme Court ruled that the mob-dominated trials violated due process, a landmark ruling holding that federal courts could review state criminal proceedings for constitutional violations. The men were eventually released in 1925.