While in search of ancestors in newspaper archives, I found this chilling tidbit from a 1922 southeast Texas paper. Apparently an editor was still nursing his anger over losing our nation's bloodiest war.
Curious as to when lynching of citizens was outlawed, I found only a 2005 apology sponsored by 80 U.S. senators for not passing anti-lynching laws. I've read this article twice, and don't see that ANY lynching law has yet passed. Ever.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/06/13/senate-apologizes-for-not-passing-anti-lynching-laws.html
Really? From 1882 to 1968, "nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress, and three passed the House. Seven presidents between 1890 and 1952 petitioned Congress to pass a federal law."
I firmly believe that laws are not a deterrent to criminal behavior. But laws sure as hell aid prosecutors when seeking to press charges and to later convince juries to give l o n g lengthy sentences to those found guilty.
So no, Mr. Editor from a town called Liberty. Your right to murder by (white) cloak of darkness or by public hanging was not deemed unlawful in 1922, as you had earlier feared.
FEBRUARY 2020 UPDATE: Were S L O W L Y making progress, folks, towards a federal law against lynching, FFS:
"Previous attempts by Congress since 1900 to pass similar legislation repeatedly failed. The Senate approved a similar version by unanimous consent in February 2019. But because of minor discrepancies, the Senate will need to vote on the House's in order for it to land on the president's desk for approval. If the measure becomes law, violators would face substantial fines and/or jail time.
Between 1877 and 1950, the Equal Justice Initiative estimates that more than 4,000 black people were lynched in a dozen states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
The bill, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, was written after the 1955 racist murder of a black teenager in Mississippi, which spawned civil rights action."