CRIME: Black Legion

In Detroit one evening last fortnight some 50 members of the Black Legion, wearing cheap black & white robes and hoods, held a solemn conclave. Present were two relatives of the wife of a 32-year-old WPA worker named Charles Poole. They reported that Charles Poole was a wife-beater. "Let's beat him up!" "Let's stripe him!" cried the Black Legionaries. Some, more bloodthirsty, screamed: "Let's hang him!"

The Legion's "Colonel" Harvey Davis decided on hanging. Poole was lured to the meeting on the pretext that he was needed for a sandlot baseball team....

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!