“One of the most revolting scenes I have ever witnessed took place this morning in the yard of the Leverett Street prison.”
– Baltimore Sun article, 1849
”Issues of equal justice remain in the forefront of our national debate today, echoing concerns that have been voiced by each generation of African Americans.
The Case of Washington Goode
Washington Goode, a black man, was hanged at Boston’s Leverett Street jail on May 25, 1849 - the fi rst execution at the jail in thirteen years. Abolitionists charged that the death penalty was imposed, in part, because of Goode’s race. Goode was convicted in the stabbing death of Thomas Harding “a rival for the affections” of a woman named Mary Ann Williams. The case struck a chord because it raised the issue of equal punishment and the inhumanity of the death penalty.
Petition 1
Sojourner Truth signed two petitions protesting the death penalty while living in Northampton, Massachusetts. Born into slavery in New York, she selected her distinctive name as an itinerant preacher. Notice the biting satire in the printed petition.
- Massachusetts Archives
Petition 2
Sojourner Truth signed two petitions protesting the death penalty while living in Northampton, Massachusetts. Born into slavery in New York, she selected her distinctive name as an itinerant preacher. Notice the biting satire in the printed petition.
- Massachusetts Archives
- Massachusetts Archives
Protests in the Washington
Goode case foreshadowed similar controversies in the twentieth century and today. One hundred and thirty petitions were submitted requesting clemency. Over 24,000 Massachusetts residents signed including William Lloyd Garrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
- Massachusetts State Library
A National Issue
The execution was reported in newspapers far beyond Massachusetts. A reporter for the Baltimore Sun was deeply affected by the event and submitted a moving account of the day.
“One of the most revolting scenes I have ever witnessed took place this morning in the yard of the Leverett Street prison. I learned that the wretched man had attempted to commit suicide the night before … with a piece of glass. But for the timely arrival of the physician, he must have died in a few minutes.
The officers were required to carry the condemned man in an arm-chair because of his feeble condition occasioned by the loss of blood the night previous…Goode beheld for the first time the fatal instrument which was to complete the awful tragedy. At this moment he seemed to realize his fate and leaned his head back in hopeless agony.
Such a scene I hope never to witness again. The cold pouring rain- the shivering meager group assembled around the gallows- the ghostly appearance of the bleeding victim…
All the efforts of a host of philanthropists to have the sentence of death commuted to imprisonment for life were to no avail.”
Goode was hanged, still strapped to his chair.
Granite for breaking
Granite Ad
Nineteenth Century ad for granite to be cut by inmates at the Leverett Street jail.
- Massachusetts Archives