The jury deliberated the fate of Ed Johnson for over six hours. The jury was split： eight favoring conviction and four favoring acquittal. After a night home with their families， the minority suddenly gave in. At 9：25 a.m. the next morning， the jury's foreman announced， "On the single count of rape， we， the jury， find the defendant， Ed Johnson， guilty." Then， after a recess， came a surprising announcement from defense attorney W. G. M. Thomas： the defense would "acquiesce in the action of the jury."

　　Johnson's defense attorneys had split two to one against appealing his conviction. Thomas and Cameron concluded that an appeal would be futile and invite a raid on the jail that might not only result in Johnson's death， but those of other inmates as well. Shepherd， the only experienced criminal lawyer of the three， disagreed， but was outvoted. Thomas told Johnson his choice was to accept the verdict and die in an orderly way at an appointed time or to die at the hands of a lynch mob. Johnson reportedly told Thomas， "I will tell the judge I am ready to die. But I will also say that I am not the guilty man." Judge McReynolds sentenced Johnson to be "hung by the neck until dead" on March 13， 1906.

　　Hours after Johnson heard his sentence pronounced， Ed's father （known as "Skinbone" Johnson） visited the law office of Chattanooga's most highly respected African Attorney， Noah Parden. Skinbone Johnson told Parden that his son did not want to die. He wanted to appeal. Parden was reluctant to take the case. Although Johnson may well have been innocent and denied a fair trial， convincing the Tennessee Supreme Court to grant a new trial in an emotionally charged case such as this would be next to impossible. Parden's law partner， Styles Hutchins， thought differently， however. It was a lawyer's job to do justice， he argued. They decided to take the case. Sunday morning， Parden paid a visit to the home of Lewis Shepherd and recruited him to continue the fight for justice for Ed Johnson.

　　On Monday， February 12， Parden and Hutchins visited Judge McReynolds in his courtroom to inform him of their intention to appeal Ed Johnson's conviction. They told them that they had a motion ready. McReynolds， stunned by this development and fearing the consequences of a delay in Johnson's execution， told the two attorneys to return the next day to formally file their motion. Return the next day Parden and Hutchins did， only to be told by the judge that they were one day late： the time limit for filing a motion for a new trial was three days——this was the fourth. Parden and Hutchins left the courtroom feeling they had been tricked.

　　As Parden and Hutchins prepared an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court， they began to understand what they were up against. No one， it seemed， wanted to employ lawyers who had stirred up the anger of a judge and the white legal establishment. Moreover， officials did what they could to complicate their efforts. Officials at the court claimed to have difficulty in locating the case file. The court stenographer， for the first time， insisted that money for the trial transcript be paid in full before delivery.

　　On March 3， 1906， the Tennessee Supreme Court， without a dissenting vote， turned down Johnson's request for a new trial. Writing for the Court， Chief Justice W. D. Beard wrote， "We have given the technical record a most scrutinizing inspection to see if serious errors were there to be discovered， but have been unable to find any." Sheriff Shipp ordered his deputies to began stretching the inch thick rope that would be used to hang Johnson on March 13.

　　But Noah Parden had not given up. He would take the battle to save Ed Johnson to the federal courts. On March 7， Parden took the train to Knoxville to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. District Judge Charles Clark set March 10th as the date for a hearing on the petition.

　　In 1906， there was little reason to expect relief in the federal courts. Federal judges could not reconsider the evidence presented in state trials. They could only act when the federal constitutional rights of the defendant had been violated. Moreover， the Supreme Court had narrowly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause. The protections of the Bill of Rights——to an impartial jury， to effective counsel， right against self-incrimination， and all of its other guarantees——had not yet been found by the Court to be applicable in state trials. As of 1906， there existed not one case in which the federal courts had reversed a state court conviction on the basis of the due process clause. （One conviction， in 1886， was reversed on an equal protection claim.）

　　Parden argued before Judge Clark that Johnson's trial was riddled with constitutional violations. He contended that Judge McReynold's refusal to delay or move the trial——in view of the attempted lynching and other threats——was a denial of due process. He said the same thing about the juror's "tear his heart out" lunge at Johnson. He argued that Hamilton County's systematic exclusion of black jurors violated the equal protection clause. Finally， Parden suggested that Johnson had been abandoned by his court appointed attorneys after trial. "Like a lamb being led to the slaughter， he was dumb，" Parden said. Witnesses were called to substantiate the various defense claims. W. G. M. Thomas was called to testify that he based his decision not to appeal on reports that more than two dozen men had said an appeal would lead to a lynching： "It was said a dilatory movement would wind up lynching the judge， lawyers， and everyone else."

　　After listening to arguments and witnesses on both sides for eight hours， Judge Clark announced that he would issue his decision later that evening. Shortly before 1：00 a.m.， the judge returned to his courtroom. Judge Clark agreed that there might have been serious flaws in Johnson's trial， but he ruled that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a fair trial did not apply in state court trials. He rejected Johnson's equal protection claim as well. In a small victory for the defense， however， Clark postponed Johnson's hanging for ten days （later reduced， in a concession to angered state officials， to seven days） to allow time for his decision to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

　　In the early morning hours of March 15， an unidentified person sets fire to the wood frame law office of Parden and Hutchins. The blaze is extinguished without major damage. Later that afternoon， Parden left Chattanooga by train for Washington， where he will make his final plea to save Ed Johnson's life.

　　On the morning of March 17， Parden and a Washington lawyer named Emanuel Hewlett entered the waiting room of the Supreme Court in the Old Senate Chamber. The wait seemed interminable. Parden began to despair：

　　As the day expired， I prepared my soul for failure. Then I convinced myself this effort required nothing short of a miracle. It was late in the evening and I had all but given up. I folded my hands and asked God for guidance on how to tell Ed Johnson's family that I had failed.

　　Finally the Court's receptionist stood in the doorway and announced， "He will see you now." The "he" turned out to be Justice John Marshall Harlan， the same justice who——observing that "The Constitution is colorblind"——dissented in Plessy vs Ferguson， the famous case which upheld the principle of "separate but equal." Harlan asked Johnson's lawyers， "Mr. Parden， Mr. Hewlett， tell me why the United States Supreme Court should care about this case？" The two lawyers proceeded to do so. The elderly justice nodded without giving them a word of encouragement.

　　With his client's scheduled execution less than two days away， Noah Parden arrived back at the Chattanooga train station to see his obviously overjoyed partner， Styles Hutchins， waving a piece of paper in the air. It was a telegram from Washington to signed by Justice John Harlan： "Have allowed appeal to accused in habeas corpus case of Ed Johnson." In the hours after his meeting with Parden， Harlan had read the transcript of the Knoxville hearing and became convinced Johnson's case raised serious constitutional issues. At Harlan's request， a majority of justices gathered on Sunday morning at the home of Chief Justice Fuller to his plea for intervention. After debating the issue for an hour， the justices agreed upon their unprecedented action of staying the execution and granting Johnson's appeal. Harlan ordered telegrams sent to District Judge Clark， the defense lawyers， Judge McReynolds， District Attorney McReynolds， and Sheriff Shipp informing them of the Supreme Court's action.

　　THE LYNCHING OF ED JOHNSON

　　The news that the Supreme Court had stayed Johnson's scheduled execution did not sit well with many in Chattanooga. About 8 p.m. on March 19 a group of men carrying guns descended on the Hamilton County Jail where Johnson was being held. Only a single guard， jailer Jeremiah Gibson， guarded the prisoners. Sheriff Shipp， rejecting a suggestion to post extra guards， had instead given his other deputies the night off. The first members of the mob to enter the jail bloodied a black trusty they encountered， then began their search of the jail. More and more men poured into the jail. Confronting a large steel door， members of the mob called for a sledgehammer and began whacking it in turns. The door finally gave into the attack and the mob moved on to its next obstacle. About 8：30 p.m.， Ed Johnson， on the third floor， was awakened by the cries of inmates below. Johnson looked out the window of his cell to see the crowd of nearly two hundred men and women in the courtyard below. The only other inmate on the floor， Ellen Baker， said to Johnson， "You better do some prayin'." Soon the mob made their way up the spiral staircase to the third floor and began pounding on the doors that still separated them from Johnson.

　　A second door comprised of steel bars secured by five bolts riveted into the cement floor proved a frustrating obstacle for the rioters. Johnson had plenty of time to pray. Ellen Baker later described Johnson lying on his steel-framed bunk， a green wool blanket pulled up to his chin， eyes closed， reciting the 23rd Psalm. It was not until 10：35 that the last bolt gave way and the men made their way to Johnson's cell. A key taken from Gibson opened the cell door. The men tied Johnson's hands with rope and dragged him from the cell out to an awaiting crowd.

　　Cries of "Kill him now！" and "Cut his heart out right here！" came from the mob. The leaders of the mob debated what they should do. Finally someone yelled， "To the county bridge！" The call was met by great applause. For six blocks， in raucous procession， the crowd marched to the Walnut Street Bridge that spanned the Tennessee River. At the second span rope was looped around the frame of the bridge. "Do you have anything to say？" a man holding a noose asked Johnson. With the noose around his neck and blood dripping from his mouth， Johnson remained calm. He spoke to the crowd：

　　I am ready to die. But I never done it. I am going to tell the truth. I am not guilty. I have said all the time that I did not do it and it is true. I was not there.

　　I know I am going to die and I have no fear to die and I have no fear at all.

　　I was not at St. Elmo that night. Nobody saw me with a strap. They were mistaken and saw somebody else. I was at the Last Chance Saloon just as I said.

　　I am not guilty and that is all I have to say.

　　God bless you all. I am innocent.

　　For two minutes， Ed Johnson's body "jerked with life" as it swayed one hundred feet above the Tennessee River， then it stopped. Johnson was pulled back up to the bridge. His head moved. A barrage of bullets ended his life. A leader of the mob pinned a sheet of paper to Johnson's body. The note read： "To Justice Harlan. Come and get your nigger now."

　　The next morning， word of Johnson's lynching reached Washington. Although in recess， Justice Harlan and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes met with Chief Justice Fuller. After a closed-door meeting， each justice expressed his outrage to the press. Justice Harlan told a reporter for the Washington Post， "[Johnson] had the right to a fair trial， and the mandate of the Supreme Court has for the first time in the history of the country been openly defied by a community." Holmes was no less angry： "In all likelihood， this was a case of an innocent man improperly branded a guilty brute and condemned to die from the start." President Theodore Roosevelt announced， "It is an affront to the highest tribunal in the land that cannot go by without the proper action being taken."

　　In Chattanooga， the reaction to the lynching was decidedly mixed. Dr. Howard Jones， minister of the city's establishment First Baptist Church， condemned the killing of Ed Johnson in the strongest possible terms. "Lawlessness begets lawlessness，" he told his all-white congregation. On the other hand， J. G. Rice， editorialized in his Chattanooga News that "the worthless， shiftless， criminal black brute who outrages a white woman has no more rights under the law than a serpent."

　　President Roosevelt met with Attorney General William Moody to consider the response of the federal government to the lynching. Roosevelt decided to order a federal preliminary investigation which， it was understood， might be used by the Supreme Court should it choose to bring criminal contempt charges. Less than two days after the lynching， two Secret Service agents——E. P. McAdams and Henry G. Dickey——were on their way to Chattanooga to began collecting evidence.

　　The agents soon discovered that on the matter of Johnson's lynching most lips in Tennessee were firmly sealed. Walking back to their hotel after an unproductive day of investigating， McAdams and Dickey were warned to leave town and then assaulted by three pipe-wielding men. The agents were undeterred. Eventually， they with the assistance of people such Reverend Jones and Noah Parden， the agents were led to witnesses who began to shed some light on the events surrounding the lynching. （Dr. Jones paid a price for his cooperation： the night after he talked with federal agents， Jones returned to find his home ablaze.）

　　On April 20， Dickey and McAdams filed their report on the lynching. The report detailed unusual activities at the jail prior to the lynching， including the release of deputies and the moving of all but one inmate from the floor occupied by Johnson. It indicated that both Judge McReynolds and District Attorney Whitaker knew about the attack on the jail from the moment it began and watched events unfold from their courtroom window. The agents noted that Sheriff Shipp did nothing to stop the lynching and——despite spending an hour near the mob leaders——claimed， implausibly， not to be able to identify a single conspirator.

　　TRIAL IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

　　A month later， Attorney General Moody met with Chief Justice Fuller and Justice Harlan. An hour of debate produced an historic agreement： the Chattanooga conspirators would be tried by the Court for criminal contempt. It would be the first——and， to date， the only——criminal trial in the history of the United States Supreme Court. The Attorney General agreed to file charges with the clerk of the Supreme Court. The Justice Department， rather than the Court （as was at one time discussed）， would lead the prosecution.

　　On May 28， 1906， the Justice Department filed papers accusing twenty-seven Chattanooga residents of conspiring to lynch and murder Ed Johnson. Named in the papers were Sheriff Joseph Shipp and eight of his deputies.

　　The defendants and their lawyers assembled in courtroom on the second floor of the Capitol Building on October 15， 1906. After the justices of the Supreme Court took their seats on the bench， Solicitor General Henry Hoyt announced that the federal government was ready to proceed with the case of United States v. Shipp. Noah Parden and Styles Hutchins watched from front-row seats as lawyers for the accused stepped forward to enter their pleas of "Not Guilty."

　　Before the Court would allow evidence to be taken in the Shipp case， it needed to resolve the troublesome question of jurisdiction： Did the Court have the power to try Shipp and the others for criminal contempt？ The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the jurisdictional issue on December 4. Noah Parden and Joseph Shipp sat directly across the aisle from each other as they listened to lawyers for both sides present their cases. Solicitor General Henry Hoyt argued that the Court did have jurisdiction. Hoyt contended that Johnson's right to be heard on his application for habeas corpus was protected by the Constitution and that the Court acted appropriately in staying his execution. "This proceeding is about nothing less than establishing and protecting the rule of law，" Hoyt told the justices. Judson Harmon， a Cincinnati lawyer representing Sheriff Shipp， countered by arguing that none of Johnson's federally protected rights had been violated and that therefore the Court improperly granted its stay. Since the stay was improperly issued， Harmon argued， no one who violated the Court's orders should be found in contempt. Harmon was interrupted by Justice Holmes who asked， "But you would agree that this Court has the authority to determine that the Sixth Amendment [with its guarantee of a fair trial] is binding on the state courts， do you not？" The possibility that the Court might actually be ready to apply the protections of the Bill of Rights to state courts shocked Harmon， and he understood for the first time how strongly incensed some of the justices must have been with the handling of the Johnson case. On Christmas Eve， the Court， in a unanimous decision written by Oliver Wendell Holmes， ruled that it had the jurisdiction to try Shipp and the other accused conspirators.

　　The Shipp trial opened in in the United States Custom House Chattanooga （the Court decided that witnesses could more easily be gathered there than in Washington） on February 12， 1907. Having neither the time nor inclination to travel to Tennessee to hear weeks of testimony， the justices appointed James D. Maher， deputy clerk of the Supreme Court， to preside at the trial and prepare an evidentiary record which they could review. The courtroom was filled to capacit