Race Distinctions in American LawStephenson, Gilbert Thomas
History
Race Distinctions in American Law
Stephenson, Gilbert Thomas
African Americans -- Politics and government; Law -- United States -- History; United States -- Race relations
Parish No. 3, 11,000 white people, 17,800 Negroes: “... in this parish
Negroes have served on both our grand and petit juries ever since the
Civil War. Only the very best of our Negroes are drawn on the jury; they
usually constitute about one-half of the panel on the petit jury and on
the grand jury they are always represented, but in a much smaller
proportion. The number of Negroes with us fit for jury service is not
increasing as one would think would be the case considering their
advantage for an education. They render very good service, rather prone
to convict in serious personal injury cases, inflict capital punishment
more readily than white juries and generally want all law enforced,
especially against bad men of their own race, as they know this is their
best protection.”
Parish No. 4, 2,000 white people, 13,700 Negroes: “... we have had one
Negro on the petit jury the last criminal term of court in a murder case
of another Negro. He is the only Negro that has sat on the jury for two
or three years in our parish. We do not allow any Negroes to sit on the
grand jury in our parish. There are three names of Negroes in the
jury-box that we draw our general venire from, as well as I remember,
possibly one or two more, but not more than that number, as well as I
remember. We used to have as many Negroes as white jurors here ten or
twelve years ago.”
_Mississippi._—County No. 1, 4,000 white people, 31,000 Negroes: “...
Negroes do serve on juries in our circuit courts, also in our
magistrate’s court. As to the extent Negro jurors serve Negro jurors are
decreasing in late years. It requires certain qualifications to make
them competent under the Constitution of the State of Mississippi,
to-wit: Every male inhabitant of the State, except idiots, insane
persons, and Indians not taxed, who is a citizen of the United States,
twenty-one years old and upwards, who resided in the State two years,
and one year in the election district, or in the incorporated city or
town in which he offers to vote, and who is duly registered, and has
never been convicted of bribery, burglary, theft, arson, obtaining money
or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or
bigamy, and who has paid, on or before the first day of February of the
year in which he shall offer to vote, all taxes which have been legally
required of him, and is able to read any section of the Constitution of
the State, or is able to understand the same, when read to him, is a
qualified voter, and can be a member of either our grand jury or a petit
jury if drawn as such. Our Negro jurors are either ministers or school
teachers, with some farmers. The majority of them fail to pay their
taxes, which disqualifies them from jury service. Negro jurors are not
regarded by our courts as good jurymen, but we are compelled to use them
when drawn and they are qualified to serve.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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