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 capacity——mostly by African-Americans——as Maher took his seat on the bench.

　　Assistant Attorney General Terry Sanford presented the prosecution's case. His first witness was J. L. Chivington， a reporter for the Chattanooga Times， who had witnessed and written about Johnson's lynching. Chivington testified that "there were normally six or seven deputies on guard every night" at the jail——except the night of March 19. Edward Chaddick， manager of the Western union telegram office， testified that he had hand-delivered to Sheriff Shipp a telegram from the United States Supreme Court on the afternoon of the lynching. Ellen Baker provided the most riveting testimony of the trial's first day. Baker testified that all the other third-floor prisoners were removed to lower floors on the afternoon of the lynching， leaving just her and Johnson on the third-floor. Baker said that she began crying and shouting as the mob made its way through the jail. Deputy Gibson "told me to hush hollering， there warn't nobody going to hurt me，" Baker added. About the same time， a man poked his gun through the bars to her cell： "It scared me——I quit hollering."

　　A key witness for the prosecution was a John Stonecipher， a Georgia contractor who had talked with some leaders of the mob at a saloon just hours before the lynching. According to Stonecipher， a man named Frank Ward said to him as he stood on a curb waiting for a car to go home， "We want you to help us lynch that damn nigger tonight." Stonecipher replied with the suggestion， "I believe Sheriff Shipp would shoot the red-hot stuff out of you." "No，" answered Ward， "it is all agreed. There won't be a sheriff or deputy there." Stonecipher also testified concerning conversations after the lynching with defendants Ward， Henry Padgett， Alf Handman， and Willian Mayes. According to Stonecipher， Ward complained to him， "You are the first damn man from Georgia ever I saw that didn't have nerve enough to kill a nigger." After offering his testimony， Stonecipher received an anonymous letter from "The Lynchers" threatening to blow up his house with dynamite.

　　After the government produced thirty-one witnesses over five days， Commissioner Maher then recessed the trial until June. When the trial resumed， Terry Sanford called to the stand a Chattanooga justice of the peace， A. J. Ware. Ware had been told by some black youths that a lynching was taking place. He followed the lynch mob to the Walnut Street Bridge. Asked by Sanford who he saw adjust the noose around Ed Johnson's neck， Ware replied， "Nick Nolan." Sanford asked Ware who shot Johnson after he was pulled back up on the bridge. "I believe it was Luther Williams，" Ware answered. "He fired five shots into Johnson's body."

　　On Saturday， June 15， the defense began to present its case. Friends， relatives， and co-workers took to the stand to offer alibis or attest to the high moral character of various of the defendants. Some of the defendants themselves also testified. Bart Justice said he spent the night of Johnson's lynching at home in bed——and his wife and daughter backed his claim up. Only one defendant， Luther Williams， admitted being present at the lynching. He claimed to have been only a spectator. Other witnesses challenged the credibility of prosecution witnesses. Jailer Jeremiah Gibson denied having told inmate Ellen Baker that the thought a mob would be coming that night.

　　Sheriff Joseph Shipp was the last witness called by the defense. Shipp testified： "I never conspired with any living man， my deputies or anyone else； and I had no knowledge， not the slightest， that there would be any effort on my part or anybody to interfere with Johnson." Shipp claimed to have "run most of the way and walked rapidly the balance of the way" to the jail as soon as he learned that a lynching was in progress. At the jail， Shipp told the court， "I was seized from behind by several men." They "stood over me with a guard" as the mob leaders continued "the progress of the work." On cross-examination， Shipp claimed not to have recognized any of the mob members at the jail， even though he was held there——without blindfolds——for thirty minutes. Asked why he didn't pull his gun to stop the lynching， Shipp replied， "I had no adequate force， and knew that the pulling of a gun would be useless."

　　On June 29， the defense rested. In March of 1909， the trial moved to the Supreme Court in Washington， where both sides would have the opportunity to present closing arguments. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte told the Court that he believed the issues involved in the Shipp case to be so important that he decided to deliver the final argument himself. In his six-hour summation， Bonaparte reviewed the evidence of the trial and made the case for a guilty verdict. Bonaparte told the justices that "Justice is at an end when orders of the highest and most powerful court in the land are set at naught." Judson Harmon presented the closing argument for Sheriff Shipp the following day. Hudson conceded that is client did not， in retrospect， handle the situation properly： "It is possible that Captain Shipp acted with poor judgment on the night of the lynching. It is easy to see that he should have guarded the jail and prepared for a mob." But certainly， Harmon argued， "Captain Shipp cannot be convicted of contempt by this Court simply because， in the performance of his duties， he exercised bad judgment." He concluded by urging "this highest and greatest court in the world" to find Shipp， this "truthful， law-abiding， honorable gentleman，" "Not Guilty." After listening to brief arguments from lawyers for the other defendants， the Court adjourned to consider its verdict.

　　On Monday， May 24， 1909， the Supreme Court met to announce its decision in the matter of United States v. Shipp. In his quiet voice， Chief Justice Fuller read his opinion. Fuller said that Sheriff Shipp "resented the necessary order of this court as an alien intrusion" and believed it to be "responsible for the lynching." The Court concluded otherwise： "Shipp not only made the work of the mob easy， but in effect aided and abetted it." Shipp was found guilty of criminal contempt. The Court also declared jailer Jeremiah Gibson and four members of the lynch mob——Nick Nolan， William Mayes， Henry Padgett， and Luther Williams guilty. Evidence was found insufficient to convict Deputy Matthew Galloway and two members of the lynch mob. Justices Holmes， Harlan， Brewer， and Day joined Chief Justice Fuller's decision. Three dissenting justices voted to acquit all defendants.

　　On November 15， 1909， Sheriff Shipp and the other convicted defendants stood before the nine justices of the Supreme Court to receive their sentences. Justice Fuller announced：

　　You， Sheriff Joseph F. Shipp， Jeremiah Gibson， Luther Williams， Nick Nolan， Henry Padgett， and William Mayes， are before this court on an attachment for contempt. You have been found guilty.

　　Sheriff Shipp， Luther Williams， and Nick Nolan are hereby sentenced to ninety days imprisonment. Jeremiah Gibson， Henry Padgett， and William Mayes are hereby sentenced to sixty days. All sentences are to be served at the United States Jail in the District of Columbia.

　　This Court is adjourned.

　　Writing in the Atlanta Independent， Noah Parden praised the Court's decision： "The very rule of law upon which this country was founded and on which the future of this nation rests has been enforced with the might of our highest tribunal."On January 30， 1910， after completing his three-month sentence， Sheriff Shipp returned to Chattanooga， where he received a hero's welcome. As he stepped off the train from Washington， he was greeted by a crowd of more than 10，000 people singing "Dixie."