With Graham’s appeal looking like it might succeed, some people in Lexington are getting very anxious. It culminates in a late-night attack on the Lexington jail where Willie is being held, and the young man meets a violent end at the hands of a lynch mob. This episode features first-hand accounts of the lynching itself.

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Bristow Marchant is the reporter on this podcast. It is a a production of The State and McClatchy, and produced by Loumay Alesali, Jennifer Molina, Kata Stevens, Hrisanthi Pickett and Joshua Boucher. Special thanks to Don Blount, Jeff Wilkinson, Walter Edgar and Orry Lee.