5/9/21: Maryland Pardons Lynching Victims --Those Who Were Convicted

We don't think of Maryland as a hotbed of lynching. It wasn't even in the Confederacy. And yet in the 75 years from 1858 to 1933, 40 people were sacrificed to rage and Jim Crow. One victim is known only by his first name, Frederick. Another, Howard Cooper, was 15 years old when he was convicted of rape; a crowd of angry white people dragged him out of the county jail and hanged him.

Yesterday, Governor Jim Hogan, a Republican, took a novel step in acknowledging the victims of this form of terrorism: Gov. Hogan pardoned every lynching victim who was convicted. (Seven others hadn't even made it to trial. Being unconvicted, they weren't eligible for clemency.)

It was good PR, for sure. Hogan signed the pardons at the unveiling of a historical marker for Cooper in Towson. He also pointed out that Maryland is the first state to pardon its victims. “The state of Maryland has long been on the forefront of civil rights, dating back to Justice Thurgood Marshall’s legal battle to integrate schools,” Hogan said. “Today, we are once again leading the way as we continue the work to build a more perfect union.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maryland-larry-hogan-lynching-victims-pardon_n_60970212e4b0aead1b847689?fbclid=IwAR3J-Ck-DIdkL-6oiZXGuUHij3I2U9WLnbIzZZD4gI8mb8x2FoiP1OBR7as