Henry Francis Hays was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 lynching-style murder of 19 -year-old African-American Michael Donald.
The lynching was ordered by KKK leaders, reportedly to show Klan strength in Alabama. Donald was abducted at random from a Mobile street by two men, then beaten, cut and strangled. His body was strung up in a tree.
Although a brief investigation took place and the local police eventually claimed that Donald had been murdered as a result of a disagreement over a drugs deal (Donald was, in fact, not involved with drugs), Federal attorneys, as well as public pressure, led FBI to examine the case.
As a result, Hays and fellow KKK member, James Knowles, were arrested, tried, and convicted. Knowles, who appeared as chief prosecution witness, was sentenced to life in prison for violating Donald's civil rights. Hays, tried six months later, received a death sentence.
Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, with assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, sued United Klans of America in a civil suit. An all White jury found the Klan responsible for the lynching of Michael Donald and ordered it to pay 7 million dollars to Mrs. Donald. This resulted in the Klan having to hand over all its assets, including its national headquarters in Tuscaloosa. Despite earlier KKK leaders plans, the Donald murder case ruined the Klan in Alabama.
Hays was executed in the Alabama electric chair "Yellow Mama" after Governor Fob James refused to commute his sentence. He was the first white person executed for the murder of a black person in Alabama since 1913. Hays was 42-year old at time of his electrocution.
The lynching was ordered by KKK leaders, reportedly to show Klan strength in Alabama. Donald was abducted at random from a Mobile street by two men, then beaten, cut and strangled. His body was strung up in a tree.
Although a brief investigation took place and the local police eventually claimed that Donald had been murdered as a result of a disagreement over a drugs deal (Donald was, in fact, not involved with drugs), Federal attorneys, as well as public pressure, led FBI to examine the case.
As a result, Hays and fellow KKK member, James Knowles, were arrested, tried, and convicted. Knowles, who appeared as chief prosecution witness, was sentenced to life in prison for violating Donald's civil rights. Hays, tried six months later, received a death sentence.
Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, with assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, sued United Klans of America in a civil suit. An all White jury found the Klan responsible for the lynching of Michael Donald and ordered it to pay 7 million dollars to Mrs. Donald. This resulted in the Klan having to hand over all its assets, including its national headquarters in Tuscaloosa. Despite earlier KKK leaders plans, the Donald murder case ruined the Klan in Alabama.
Hays was executed in the Alabama electric chair "Yellow Mama" after Governor Fob James refused to commute his sentence. He was the first white person executed for the murder of a black person in Alabama since 1913. Hays was 42-year old at time of his electrocution.
Henry Francis Hays was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 lynching-style murder of 19 -year-old African-American Michael Donald.
The lynching was ordered by KKK leaders, reportedly to show Klan strength in Alabama. Donald was abducted at random from a Mobile street by two men, then beaten, cut and strangled. His body was strung up in a tree.
Although a brief investigation took place and the local police eventually claimed that Donald had been murdered as a result of a disagreement over a drugs deal (Donald was, in fact, not involved with drugs), Federal attorneys, as well as public pressure, led FBI to examine the case.
As a result, Hays and fellow KKK member, James Knowles, were arrested, tried, and convicted. Knowles, who appeared as chief prosecution witness, was sentenced to life in prison for violating Donald's civil rights. Hays, tried six months later, received a death sentence.
Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, with assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, sued United Klans of America in a civil suit. An all White jury found the Klan responsible for the lynching of Michael Donald and ordered it to pay 7 million dollars to Mrs. Donald. This resulted in the Klan having to hand over all its assets, including its national headquarters in Tuscaloosa. Despite earlier KKK leaders plans, the Donald murder case ruined the Klan in Alabama.
Hays was executed in the Alabama electric chair "Yellow Mama" after Governor Fob James refused to commute his sentence. He was the first white person executed for the murder of a black person in Alabama since 1913. Hays was 42-year old at time of his electrocution.
The lynching was ordered by KKK leaders, reportedly to show Klan strength in Alabama. Donald was abducted at random from a Mobile street by two men, then beaten, cut and strangled. His body was strung up in a tree.
Although a brief investigation took place and the local police eventually claimed that Donald had been murdered as a result of a disagreement over a drugs deal (Donald was, in fact, not involved with drugs), Federal attorneys, as well as public pressure, led FBI to examine the case.
As a result, Hays and fellow KKK member, James Knowles, were arrested, tried, and convicted. Knowles, who appeared as chief prosecution witness, was sentenced to life in prison for violating Donald's civil rights. Hays, tried six months later, received a death sentence.
Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, with assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, sued United Klans of America in a civil suit. An all White jury found the Klan responsible for the lynching of Michael Donald and ordered it to pay 7 million dollars to Mrs. Donald. This resulted in the Klan having to hand over all its assets, including its national headquarters in Tuscaloosa. Despite earlier KKK leaders plans, the Donald murder case ruined the Klan in Alabama.
Hays was executed in the Alabama electric chair "Yellow Mama" after Governor Fob James refused to commute his sentence. He was the first white person executed for the murder of a black person in Alabama since 1913. Hays was 42-year old at time of his electrocution.
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