Pardon sought for Black man executed in 1908 in Illinois

By COREY WILLIAMS and JOHN O’CONNOR
Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Joe James, a Black man, was asleep under a tree when he was grabbed, beaten and then arrested for the murder of a white man in Springfield, Illinois. Before he was put on trial and later executed, a white mob seeking vengeance for the crime James was accused of committing took out its hate and anger on other Blacks. The 1908 race riot left Black-owned businesses and homes looted and burned. At least two other Black men were lynched weeks before an all-white jury convened in the aftermath of the violence found James guilty. Legal teams petitioning for a pardon 114 years after the fact argue that the jury was racially prejudiced and James did not receive a fair trial.