Digital History>eXplorations>Lynching>Anti-Lynching Legislation of the 1930s>John Robsion's Letter to Walter White

John Robsion's Letter to Walter White (April 2, 1937)

Source: NAACP Papers, Library of Congress

Our Committee took up these measures at its meeting on yesterday. I voted in favor of our Committee reporting out the Gavagan Bill. However, by a vote of with to seven the Committee voted out the Mitchell Bill, after it had been emasculated. Of course, quite a number on our Committee are opposed to any character of anti-lynching bill, and as I understand it, they voted for the Mitchell Bill because it was the least objectionable to them of any anti-lynching bill. These gentlemen were fair enough to announce that it was their intention to vote against any anti-lynching bill that the Committee might report.

The Mitchell Bill is especially objectionable to me for a number of reasons. For instance, it provides a punishment of from two to ten years where the officer who has the custody of the prisoner conspires to help the mob lynch and murder his prisoner. Of course, if an officer conspires to aid the mob in murdering the prisoner, he is guilty of willful murder of the worst kind. All of the states of the Union fix the punishment for murder at life imprisonment of death. Then the Mitchell Bill provides for punishment of the mob in some cases at any fine up to five thousand dollars or any imprisonment up to five years. Under that, the court could fix a fine of one dollar or imprisonment of one day.

The Mitchell Bill had a good feature in it on the question of prima facie case. This provision of the Mitchell Bill was stricken out by the Committee— not with my vote, however.

218 of us Members of the House having signed the petition to bring the Gavagan Bill to the floor of the House and the Committee having reported out the Mitchell Bill creates an unusual parliamentary situation. Inasmuch as a majority of the Members of the House have signed a petition to bring out the Gavagan Bill.