Date:
Thursday, May 24, 1917 (all day)
MURDERER LYNCHED
A mob took Ell Persons, of Shelby county, from the officers and lynched him Tuesday morning. Persons murdered a 16-year-old girl, Antoinette Rappel, some weeks ago on the Macon road in Shelby county, near Wolf river bridge. The negro was taken to Nashville almost immediately after his arrest by Sheriff Tate. He confessed that he murdered the girl and was indicted. He was being returned to Memphis Friday for trial when the mob got hold of him and burned him at the stake.
The lynching was not surprising, in view of the fact that the authorities made no provision to protect him and the mob spirit has been defiant and arrogant from the time of his arrest.
