calsfoundation@cals.org
January 21, 1909
The trial of Charles Stinnett, a black man, on charges of raping Emma Lovett, a white woman, in Harrison (Boone County) resulted in his conviction and a sentence of death by hanging after the jury deliberated for four hours. The propensity toward violence on the part of the white community led all but one African American to flee Harrison, leaving it essentially an all-white town.