feb 6, 1893 - William Butler, killed for his stepfather's crime, the infamous Henry Smith, on Feb 6 1893 in Hickory Creek, Texas

Description:

It seems the torture and dehumanization of Henry Smith wasn't enough for the people of Paris, Texas. A few miles outside of Paris, some members of the community concluded that it would be proper to kill a stepson named William Butler as a partial penalty for the original crime. This young man, said to be a peaceful, law-abiding boy, had been watched with the severest scrutiny by members of the mob who believed he knew something of the whereabouts of Smith. He declared from the very first that he did not know where his stepfather was, which was well proven to be a fact after the discovery of Smith in Arkansas, where he had fled through swamps and woods and a variety of places. Yet Butler was apprehended, placed under arrest, and on the night of February 6, taken out on Hickory Creek, five miles southeast of Paris, and hung for his stepfather's crime. After his body was suspended in the air, the mob filled it with bullets. This is one of the examples of the absolutely ridiculous, miniature, insignificant reasons that Afro-Americans were lynched for.