GOV. CHARLES T. O’FERRALL on the Urbana, Ohio, Lynching
June 12, 1897
Summary
The governor of Virginia is quoted on his stance a lynching in Urbana, Ohio.
Transcription
“I condemn and denounce lynching in any State in this Union. Wherever there are inadequate laws for the punishment of crime, the judges and jurors who will enforce them, there can be no justification. The mob undertake to mete out punishment to offenders by becoming offenders themselves; they show their detestation of crime by committing crime themselves.
“You ask, what is the remedy?
“Hold law-officers to a strict accountability, and sustain them whenever necessary, with soldiers, who will do their duty fearlessly. If any of the mob are hurt, it will be because they were attempting to break down law and order, and defy legal authority.
“If innocent men are injured, it will be because they were out of place. No law-abiding citizen should allow his curiosity to draw him to the scene.
“In addition, punish the lynchers, and in order to do so provide for a change of venue. Then let the press of the country exert itself to make lynching so odious that no community will attempt it. In fact, I believe the whole matter is in the hands of the press, and that it can so mold public sentiment in as short time as to effectually stamp out this blot on our civilization everywhere.”
“You ask, what is the remedy?
“Hold law-officers to a strict accountability, and sustain them whenever necessary, with soldiers, who will do their duty fearlessly. If any of the mob are hurt, it will be because they were attempting to break down law and order, and defy legal authority.
“If innocent men are injured, it will be because they were out of place. No law-abiding citizen should allow his curiosity to draw him to the scene.
“In addition, punish the lynchers, and in order to do so provide for a change of venue. Then let the press of the country exert itself to make lynching so odious that no community will attempt it. In fact, I believe the whole matter is in the hands of the press, and that it can so mold public sentiment in as short time as to effectually stamp out this blot on our civilization everywhere.”
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brian Schrott
Citation
“GOV. CHARLES T. O’FERRALL on the Urbana, Ohio, Lynching,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed January 20, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1171.