Herman Deeley

Near the scenic Ditto Landing and Marina, a Black man named Herman Deeley was lynched by a mob of at least six white men on January 18, 1915.

During this time, Black people were often denied their presumption of innocence. Unfair trials and coerced confessions were used to condemn Black people. Mr. Deeley had been accused of shooting and wounding a white man and a mule. Mr. Deeley was quickly arrested to be taken north to Huntsville, but he never made it to the jail. On the way, a white mob, which included a former deputy sheriff, seized him from the hands of police at a local railroad depot. The mob placed chains around Mr. Deeley’s body before dragging him into the nearby woods and riddling his body with bullets.

During this time, it was common practice for mobs to seize their victims from jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police custody. In some cases, as was true for Mr. Deeley, police officials were found to be complicit or active participants in the lynching. Mr. Deeley, like many victims of racial terror lynchings, was denied his constitutional right to an impartial investigation and trial … and took the presumption of innocence with him to the grave. Following Mr. Deeley’s lynching, five white people were arrested for involvement in the killing, but at least four of them were quickly released on bail. Records do not indicate that anyone was ever convicted or otherwise held accountable for Mr. Deeley’s murder.

Mr. Deeley was one of at least 10 Black victims of racial terror lynching killed in Madison County between 1877 and 1950, and one of at least 361 victims in the state of Alabama. Lynchings brought terror not only to the victims and their families, but also to entire Black communities.