On the record
The only excuse for lynch law, which has a shadow of support in it is, that the criminal would probably otherwise be allowed to escape the punishment due to his crime.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “The only excuse for lynch law, which has a shadow of support in it is, that the criminal would probably otherwise be…”
Editor's note · Context
Douglass critiques the only somewhat valid excuse for lynching, which is the fear of the accused escaping justice.
Share
More from Frederick Douglass
Jan 1, 1881
Land is not worth much where there are no people to occupy it, and a mule is not worth much where there is no one to drive him.
Jan 1, 1881
But we are not here to applaud manly courage, save as it has been displayed in a noble cause.
Jan 1, 1881
Treason had shot its poisonous roots deeper, and had spread its death-dealing branches further than any northern calculation had covered.