Race, Law, and Innocence: Executing Black Men in the Eighteenth Century
In: Studies in law, politics, and society, Band 20, S. 71-97
ISSN: 1059-4337
The white representation of blacks in colonial North America & the relationship between law & race are investigated with reference to 17th- & 18th-century legal codes on slavery, execution sermon/crime narratives, & the 1796 case of Abraham Johnstone, a former slave executed for murder without any evidence. African Americans at the time were routinely physically punished as reprimands for petty transgressions, but those convicted of a capital offense received the death penalty. The white ruling class used the time between sentencing & execution to prove the immorality & criminality of the black subject. It was expected that black criminals would admit guilt & give themselves up to the "laws of man & God." Johnstone refused to do so, professing his innocence & engaging the issue of race. The support of an abolitionist in writing this unique antislavery narrative is discussed. 32 References. M. Pflum