Julius Morgan

Julius Morgan (c. 1894  – July 13, 1916) was an American criminal who was the first prisoner executed by the electric chair in Tennessee, after being convicted for the rape of a twenty-year-old woman. He claimed to have served one year in an Arkansas prison for assault before escaping to Tennessee. Morgan unsuccessfully sought clemency from the Tennessee Supreme Court and Governor Thomas Clarke Rye before admitting his guilt at his execution.

Julius Morgan
Julius Morgan (photo credit) Nashville Banner, July 13, 1916
Bornc. 1894
Arkansas, U.S.
DiedJuly 13, 1916(1916-07-13) (aged 21–22)
Tennessee State Prison, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Known forFirst person executed by electric chair in Tennessee
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Rape
Criminal penaltyDeath

Background

Julius Morgan claimed to be twenty-two years old in 1916, and came to Tennessee from Arkansas.[1] Morgan stated that he had been convicted for the assault of a woman in Arkansas in 1913, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison. He escaped from prison one year into his sentence, but was recaptured before escaping again and moving to Tennessee.[2]

Morgan was working with his brother in law and uncle at a farm in Dyer County.[3][4] Morgan was accused of criminally assaulting Laura Sullivan on February 1, 1916, near Dyersburg, Tennessee.[5] The crime occurred when the woman, described in news reports as a "20 year-old white girl" who was selling "toilet articles", came to a house where Morgan was working. Morgan pursued the woman and assaulted her in the street. He was captured about twelve hours later in Maury City. The sheriff of Dyer County moved Morgan to Jackson to protect him from a mob of vigilantes who planned to lynch him.[4][6]

Trial and petitions for clemency
A photo of Morgan and the electric chair used to execute him

Morgan appeared in court with three lawyers and was granted a change of venue to Memphis.[7][8] On March 27, 1916, Morgan was being held in the Memphis Tennessee jail, The Memphis Tennessee Sheriff, Reichman ordered guards to protect Morgan from lynch mobs.[9] He was convicted of the crime of rape on April 3, and a motion for a new trial was denied.[3][10][4]

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation on September 27, 1913, making the electric chair the official method of execution in the state and required all executions to be held in Nashville. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Ben W. Hooper.[11]

By June 1916 the Tennessee Supreme Court had affirmed the decision to execute Morgan.[12] After the Supreme Court refused to overturn the death penalty, Morgan attempted to gain clemency from the governor.[7] These attempts culminated in a visit by Governor Thomas Clarke Rye on July 10, 1916. Morgan talked to Rye about his crime, but Rye made no promise to grant clemency.[1] Several people had asked the Governor to grant clemency including the Nashville "Colored Men's Branch of the YMCA, but the Governor did not grant clemency.[4]

Execution

Morgan was singing songs with religious leaders before being moved to the penitentiary to await execution. At 5:00 pm on July 12, 1916, he was led to an automobile for transport while hundreds of people gathered to see him transported.[3][13]

On July 13, 1916, Morgan had a last meal of watermelon at the penitentiary. Morgan's head was then shaved and he was strapped into the electric chair at 4:38 am. At 4:41 am a guard flipped the switch and sent the electricity to the chair. The first jolt of electricity did not kill Morgan and the electricity was sent to the chair a second time. Morgan was pronounced dead by a doctor at 4:45 am.[14]

Morgan admitted to his guilt before his execution.[3] "I was good once. Then I went to drinking bootleg whiskey and when the showdown come-it got me."[3][N 1]

His body was delivered to his mother in Arkansas.[7] Since his execution there have been one hundred-thirty prisoners put to death using the electric chair in Tennessee.[15][16]

See also

Notes
  1. He gave a statement to the YMCA prior to his death: "I got in the habit of taking a drink of whisky in the morning when it was cold and frosty, and the habit grew upon me. The next thing to whiskey, that led to my ruin, was bad women. I would advise young men to stay away from the red light district. Bad women, like bad whisky, will lead young men and old men alike to destruction... My father was a sinner and a gambler. He was shot down without a moment's notice. He is today in hell when every body ought to pray to shun. Boys who are invited to church ought to take heed."[4]

References
  1. "Governor Visits Condemned Negro". Nashville Banner. July 10, 1916. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Confesses to Another Crime". Nashville Banner. July 14, 1916. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Pays With His Life for Crime Committed in Dyer County. No Fear of Death". Nashville Banner. July 13, 1916. p. 9. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Vandiver, Margaret (2006). Lethal punishment : lynchings and legal executions in the South. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0813537290. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  5. "Julius Morgan's Electrocution Set For July 13". The Tennessean. June 4, 1916. p. 14. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Negro Is Trailed". The Dickson Herald. February 11, 1916. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Bohm, Robert M.; Lee, Gavin (2017). Routledge handbook on capital punishment (1st ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1138651579. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  8. "Negro Secures Change of Venue". The Chattanooga News. February 29, 1916. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Guard Around Memphis Jail". The Leaf-Chronicle. March 29, 1916. p. 6. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Brought Here To Electric Chair". Nashville Banner. April 3, 1916. p. 9. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "The Chair: 100 Years After Its First Use, Tennessee's Electric Chair Remains the State's Most Prolific Killer". Nashville Scene. July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  12. "Opinions of the Supreme Court". Nashville Banner. June 5, 1916. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  13. "Posse After Assailant of Young Girl". The Tennessean. February 3, 1916. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Travis, Fred (January 5, 1958). "Crusade Against Death". Chattanooga Daily Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  15. "Tennessee Executions". Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved October 25, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "Tennessee execution: Nicholas Todd Sutton executed by electric chair". The Tennessean. February 20, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.


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