withoutsanctuary.org

JiveGray · Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1

I live in chicago and saw Without Sanctuary at the National Historical Society and I seem to remember there was one picture or post card of a woman named Mary who had been lynched while pregnant and the story was something like they cut her open and crushed the baby when he/she fell out. All of these stories and images I will always carry with me but whenever I think of Without Sanctuary that is the first story that comes to me. I did not see that picture among these. I am just curious as to any information anyone can give me on that story.

Jenny623 · Joined: 08 Dec 2005 Posts: 9

Mary Turner was the most infamous lynching referred to. You can search her on Google, there's a lot about her. She was about 8 or 9 months pregnant, and her husband was lynched innocently. Someone else had committed a crime, but because they couldn't find that person, they lynched others to pay for it, and Mr. Turner happened to be among that group. Mary Turner was verbal about her anger of the loss of her husband, and it got back to the lynchers. She was soaked in oil, and set on fire. Her body was riddled with bullets and the baby cut out of her and its head bashed. There are other pregnant women that were victims of lynching too. So it didn't matter who delicate the person, the lynchers always had the upper hand.