The Law of Alabama and not of Judge Lynch took its course last week against Lester Bouyer, Negro criminal. Near Eufaula, Bouyer had murdered a young white man, raped his white woman companion. Arrested, he was lodged in the State prison near Montgomery for safe keeping. The familiar rumblings of lynch preparations were loud and ominous. But Governor Bibb Graves declared: “There will not be a lynching in Alabama if I can prevent it.” He called out 200 National Guardsmen to protect Bouyer “at any hazard” on his journey to Eufaula for trial. The courtroom resembled an armed camp. Bouyer was convicted in ten min utes, sentenced to death, pleaded for a quick execution. Like a person of impor tance, he was then carried back to prison in a special train.
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