CULPEPER, Va. — Three black men lynched by Virginia mobs in the 1800s and early 1900s have been found innocent by a judge.
The Washington Post reported this on Friday that the men were Charles Allie Thompson, William Thompson and William Grayson. They were all killed in rural Culpeper County, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) from Washington.
Circuit Court Judge Dale B. Durrer ruled Monday that the men “were and remain innocent of their charges to this day” because they were denied a fair trial. Durrer did this at the request of prosecutor Russell L. Rabb III.
The ruling requires that documents about their treatment remain unsealed in the court cases so that future generations can view them.
“The best history helps us recognize the mistakes we have made and the evil corners in which humanity can dwell,” Durrer said. “This discomfort causes us to learn and grow and leverage the great collective power we have as a community.”
Zann Nelson, 76, is credited with making the ruling possible. She spent nearly two decades investigating the cases and harassing local officials.
“There are people who might say, ‘Well, it’s been so long, why is it so important?'” Nelson said. “Well, because it brings closure. Not just for families, but for the community.”
Charles Allie Thompson was lynched in 1918 after a white woman accused him of rape. He was held in prison for five days before a gang kidnapped and hanged him.
In 1877, William Thompson was accused of raping an 11-year-old white girl. Three days after his arrest, fifty men dragged him from prison and hung him from a poplar tree. It is unknown whether he was related to Charles Allie Thompson.
William Grayson, a free black man, was accused of murdering a white man in 1849. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned two of his convictions after two trials because he was known to have been elsewhere. He was in jail awaiting a third trial when a “lawless mob” overpowered the sheriff and lynched Grayson.