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.