Henry Brown
Henry Brown, a Black man, was hanged in the Suwannee County jail yard in Live Oak, Florida, on July 17, 1895, in a case involving three men. Sheriff J. W. Hawkins is recorded as saying Brown was hanged by the neck until dead. Shortly before the hanging, a mob of men tried to break into the jail to take the other two men, and dispersed after the sheriff said his sick wife could be endangered. On the scaffold, Brown said he alone had committed the killing and that the two other men were innocent, and his statement led the governor to respite them. A 2018 newspaper retrospective suggested that one or two of the men may not have been guilty of first-degree murder under modern standards.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Brown maintained on the scaffold that he alone committed the killing and that the two other men were innocent, and the article suggests one or two of the men may not have been guilty of first-degree murder.
Reported by: Sheriff J. W. Hawkins (the agency that held him); Live Oak newspaper report (reporters).
News reports (9)
- The Morning News, July 24, 1895, page 2
- Birmingham Age-Herald, July 24, 1895, page 5
- The Norfolk Virginian, July 24, 1895, page 1
- The Times, July 24, 1895, page 1
- The Times, August 2, 1895, page 2
- Richmond Planet, August 10, 1895, page 4
- The Monticellonian, September 27, 1895, page 4
- Macon Beacon, September 28, 1895, page 1
- Remembering Suwannee: Three men executed for 1895 murder