The Lone Prisoner
May 29, 1897
Summary
A black man is unreasonably charged for “being within ninety feet of a white woman” and is subjected to a one-year sentence in prison.
Transcription
Wesley Mayo, the colored man who was found guilty of being within ninety feet of a white woman as yet languishes in the gloomy confines of a prison.
It is the “drag-net” of Judge Ingram’s court which is now holding him-a bond of one thousand dollars for his good behavior for one year.
Mayo’s friends have had their energies severely tested. From guarding the jail to prevent lynching to raising money to pay counsel, it has been a trying time throughout.
But what has this man done? The charge against him was so ridiculously absurd and Judge Ingram’s reasons for setting aside the verdict so convincing that freedom should have come with the adjournment of the court.
We will not believe that the better classes of white people of Manchester are favorable to the longer confinement of one of its citizens.
Mayo has a family who need his efforts to keep from the door the gaunwolf of want. He has committed no crimes under our laws.
We have been anxious to see what kind of lady it could be who would put the commonwealth to the expense and the prisoner to the trouble of a tedious trial.
But it is for Judge Ingram to say, as to whether or not Mayo shall endure imprisonment or enjoy liberty.
We presume that this lone man has been down upon his knees in prayer, and his mournful appeals have been heard at the throne on High.
Let him pray not only for the persons who have so deeply wronged him, but for the Judge, the tender-hearted jurist who can no doubt be reached ere the dregs of misery have become too bitter for the pleading one.
Let us continue to hope. A brighter day will yet dawn, and the clouds which hover will pass away forever.
It is the “drag-net” of Judge Ingram’s court which is now holding him-a bond of one thousand dollars for his good behavior for one year.
Mayo’s friends have had their energies severely tested. From guarding the jail to prevent lynching to raising money to pay counsel, it has been a trying time throughout.
But what has this man done? The charge against him was so ridiculously absurd and Judge Ingram’s reasons for setting aside the verdict so convincing that freedom should have come with the adjournment of the court.
We will not believe that the better classes of white people of Manchester are favorable to the longer confinement of one of its citizens.
Mayo has a family who need his efforts to keep from the door the gaunwolf of want. He has committed no crimes under our laws.
We have been anxious to see what kind of lady it could be who would put the commonwealth to the expense and the prisoner to the trouble of a tedious trial.
But it is for Judge Ingram to say, as to whether or not Mayo shall endure imprisonment or enjoy liberty.
We presume that this lone man has been down upon his knees in prayer, and his mournful appeals have been heard at the throne on High.
Let him pray not only for the persons who have so deeply wronged him, but for the Judge, the tender-hearted jurist who can no doubt be reached ere the dregs of misery have become too bitter for the pleading one.
Let us continue to hope. A brighter day will yet dawn, and the clouds which hover will pass away forever.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brian Schrott
Citation
“The Lone Prisoner,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed January 20, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1166.