Lynching of Michael Donald

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Michael Donald was a 19-year-old African-American who was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Mobile, Alabama, on March 21, 1981. He was one of the last reported lynching victims in the United States. Several KKK members beat and killed Donald. His body was hung from a tree. One perpetrator, Henry Hays, was executed by electric chair in 1997, while another, James Knowles, was sentenced to life in prison in 1985 after pleading guilty and testifying against Hays. Knowles was paroled after serving 25 years. Benjamin Cox was convicted as an accomplice and also sentenced to life in prison in 1989. Cox was paroled in 2000. A fourth was indicted but died before his trial could be completed. Hays was the first white person to be executed in Alabama for a crime against a black person since 1913. It was the only execution of a Klan member during the 20th century for the murder of an African American person. Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, brought a civil suit for wrongful death against the United...

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