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Petrie Kimbrough (May 1888 – March 11, 1920),[1] better known by his alias Will Lockett, was an American serial killer who killed three women and one girl between 1912 and 1920 in three states and tried to kill a woman in his native Kentucky.[2] He was executed for killing 10-year-old Geneva Hardman, whom he killed by crushing her head with a stone. Lockett pleaded guilty to the crime, and admitted to three other murders before his execution.[3]

Key Information

The case is notable for the fact that the authorities used brute force to prevent white mobs from lynching Lockett, who was black. When a mob tried to storm the courthouse, the Kentucky National Guard and the state police opened fire on them, shooting over 50 people. Six people, including five members of the lynch mob, were killed. The Brooklyn Eagle remarked that the incident was "the first time south of Mason and Dixon's Line that any mob of this sort had actually met the volley fire of soldiers." When the mob returned, now with 10,000 people, they were confronted by over 1,200 U.S. Army soldiers armed with tanks and machine guns, and snipers, who had been requested by the governor. Brigadier General Francis C. Marshall declared martial law, secured the area, forced the mob to leave, enacted citywide censorship, and had military patrols guard various parts of the county, including the black districts.[4]

Biography

[edit]

Born and reared in Pembroke, Kentucky, Kimbrough began using the alias of "Will Lockett" during his travels.[2][3][5]

According to Kimbrough's confession on death row, he tried to rape a white woman in Christian County, Kentucky in 1905. In 1912, he attacked and murdered Clara Miller Rogers, a 25-year-old white woman, at Carmi, Illinois, near train tracks crossing Louisville and Nashville. In 1917, he choked, raped, and beat Eliza Morman, a 25-year-old black woman, at Governor and Canal Streets in Evansville, Indiana, leaving her for dead. He was eventually enlisted to serve in the army at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, where he raped and strangled Sallie Anderson Kraft, a 55-year-old black woman.[2][3][6]

Murder of Geneva Hardman and riots

[edit]

Geneva Hardman was a 10-year-old white schoolgirl who lived in Lexington, who became Kimbrough's last victim.[1] On February 4, 1920, her school satchel and cap were found near a fence bordering a large cornfield in southern Fayette County by a farmer named Speed Collins. Thinking a student had lost their items, he brought them to the nearby school, where the teacher, Mrs. Anna Young, recognized the items as Hardman's. She sent several older students to check if she was home ill, but her mother alerted them that she had not seen her since the morning.[2]

Collins and local store owner Claude B. Elkin, along with a Thomas Foley, left for the spot where the satchel and cap were found. After taking a closer look, they found the tracks of a large man. Following the trail, they found Geneva's body behind a fodder stock, which had been partly covered. Her body and nearby stalks were covered in blood, with a large rock next to it, and one of her hair ribbons was also found in the mud.[2]

The men then called the sheriff's office and the deputies soon arrived, led by Captain Volney G. Mullikin and his bloodhounds, who followed the large man's tracks leading into the town of Keene, in Jessamine County. It was later determined that although school children and the woman who lived on the road across the field, Bettie McClubbing, had been near the road at the time of the murder, no screams or sounds of a struggle were heard. The authorities' first break came when they met James Woolfolk, who was driving along the south pike and had offered a ride to Will Lockett, a former WWI veteran and known burglar and bootlegger, who supported himself as a day laborer on farms.[2]

Continuing to follow the trails into Nicholasville, police questioned a farmer, Will Hughes, who had seen a black man walking along the pike, covered in mud to his knees. By then, a large search party had formed, which even sighted the fleeing man and gave chase, but he fled. He was eventually captured by Dr. W. T. Collette and Deputy Sheriff W. C. White near Dixontown, after he had tried to fool them that he was "Will Hamilton". They initially left him on the road, but they saw him enter a residence and turned around to investigate. "Hamilton" was interrogated by Assistant Chief Ernest Thompson and Det. Dudley Veal, to whom he confessed to attacking Geneva because he had wanted to rape her, but had to kill her with a rock he found nearby.[2] Shortly after, Lockett was sent to the Kentucky State Penitentiary.

Governor Edwin P. Morrow dispatched the Kentucky National Guard to Lexington to protect Lockett. Morrow told the state adjutant general "Do as much as you have to do to keep that negro in the hands of the law. If he falls into the hands of the mob I do not expect to see you alive."[7]

On February 9, 1920, riots erupted in Lexington, with lynch mobs numbering between 5,000 and 10,000 people trying to storm the courthouse and kill Lockett. However, they were prevented from reaching him when the police and National Guard opened fire, shooting more than 50 people.[8] Rioters William Hiram Ethington, James D. Masengale, John Van Thomas, John M. Rogers, and Major L.M. King, and bystander Benjamin F. Carrier, were killed.[9] The father of William Ethington, James Hiram, later complained that while the troops at the front, mostly teenagers with minimal experience, had fired over the heads of the rioters, the police officers and soldiers shooting from the upper floors of the courthouse had fired directly into the mobs. In a letter to the Lexington Herald-Leader, he complained that the soldiers and police didn't empathize with the mob.

"I can not thank those that shot from the window where the first shot came from. For every time a shot was fired I could see a man fall and they were killing men that did not have anything to protect themselves with and did not wish to hurt anyone but wanted to get that negro who murdered little Geneva Hardman. I think that if those men had taken it home to themselves and could have thought 'If it had been my little daughter that had been mangled up by a brute like that,' they certainly could not have killed the boys as they did."

The mob dispersed after the soldiers started firing machine guns into the air. The actions of the police and the Kentucky National Guard were praised by the NAACP, with W. E. B. Du Bois referring to the shootout as the "Second Battle of Lexington".[10]

Fearful of prosecution, only 21 wounded rioters went to the hospital.[4] A soldier and two policemen were also seriously wounded. After the shooting, outraged members of the mob broke into pawnshops, seeking more weapons. Several pawnbrokers had kept their shops locked all day. Two shops were open; Joe Rosenberg said "forty or fifty" pistols were taken from his shop, and Harry Skuller said he had lost "fifty or sixty" weapons. Boxes of cartridges were picked up along with the pistols. More people, many of whom were armed, arrived in the town.[4]

Amid looting and fears of further violence, Edwin Morrow requested Federal help, and 1,200 Army soldiers led by Brigadier General Francis C. Marshall were brought to Lexington on special trains. They were armed with tanks and machine guns. Marshall declared the county to be under martial law, and forced the mob to leave the area. When some of those in the mob angrily objected to leaving, the soldiers beat them into submission with rifle butts. In a show of force, Marshall did not have Lockett transported discreetly, but instead had him openly marched in the streets under the guard of 400 troops to the train station to return him to the Kentucky State Penitentiary. Martial law was lifted two weeks later.[3][11]

The day after the shootings, Marshall declared, "This community has set a fine example against lawlessness and Bolshevism and has killed several of its own citizens in upholding law and order."[4]

News coverage of Lockett from 1920

Martial law

[edit]

To prevent more lynchers from organizing, Marshall enacted citywide censorship. He ordered local telephone and telegraph companies to shut down all communication within 100 miles from Lexington and banned any messages from leaving the city. Marshall also organized 12 patrols to guard certain areas of the county. Those areas included the local armory, the home of the judge, the home of the head of the county, and the black districts of Lexington.[4]

Marshall also attempted to have certain members of the crowd indicted for inciting the riot. A report said that most of the crowd were curious bystanders, but "there were undoubtedly among the crowd various men, mostly from other counties than Fayette, intent on lynching Lockett." Marshall handpicked jurors whom he knew would have no trouble convicting the rioters. However, the grand jury was discarded on the grounds that the indictments would be thrown out on constitutional grounds. A second grand jury was convened. It had secured testimony against some individuals guilty of inciting the crowd. However, on February 26, 1920, they concluded that handing down indictments with subsequent trials would "only tend to aggravate an already tense situation, engender more passion and bitter feelings in the County and State, and keep alive such as now exists."[4]

Trial, sentence and death

[edit]

After confessing to Warden Chilton his true identity and previous crimes,[1] Kimbrough was taken to court, where he pleaded guilty. During his sentencing hearing, Lockett said "I know I do not deserve mercy, but I am sorry I committed the crime and I would give anything if the little girl could be brought back to life." His lawyer pointed to his honorable discharge, which stated that his character was "very good". The jury fixed Lockett's sentence at death, and he was formally sentenced to death by Judge Charles Kerr for murdering Hardman.[2][3] Authorities at first attempted to confirm the other slayings, but soon lost interest as Kimbrough was going to be executed anyway.

Kimbrough refused to make a statement when he was taken back to his cell, but prison officials claimed that he had prayed loudly and had sung hymns during the night. He stated publicly that he was ready to die, and had prayed for both Geneva Hardman and her family.[12]

On March 11, 1920, the day of his execution, Kimbrough barely showed any emotion as the black cap was lowered onto his face. Shortly thereafter, Collier, the prison executioner, turned on the electric current, which killed the prisoner within 15 seconds without a hitch.[12] The execution was witnessed by Hardman's two brothers, 17 other civilians of Lexington, eight soldiers, and 12 prison guards. Kimbrough's body was buried in the prison cemetery.[12]

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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Will Lockett

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William Lockett, commonly known as Will Lockett, is a British independent and former recognized for his writings on , developments, and pragmatic approaches to climate challenges. With a background in , Lockett transitioned to to analyze the intersections of , and , often emphasizing technological feasibility over unsubstantiated optimism. His contributions appear in publications like , where he explores topics such as electric vehicles, , and transitions, and he maintains a newsletter that critiques political and environmental narratives through a lens of empirical scrutiny. Lockett has earned recognition as a top writer on Medium in categories including , , and , reflecting his influence in online discourse on these subjects. Notable for questioning hype in high-profile projects, such as SpaceX's tests and Tesla's long-term viability, his work highlights causal factors like constraints and market realities that mainstream coverage may overlook.

Early Life and Background

Childhood and Early Adulthood

Petrie Kimbrough, better known by his alias Will Lockett, was born in May 1888 in Pembroke, Christian County, Kentucky. He was the son of Charles and Tina Lockett and grew up in a rural farming community in Christian County as one of eight children, including five brothers and two sisters. Little is documented about Kimbrough's childhood beyond his upbringing in this impoverished, predominantly agricultural region of western , where he likely contributed to family farm labor from a young age. In early adulthood, around his mid-20s, he began itinerant travels across states including , , and , adopting the alias Will Lockett to obscure his identity during these movements. These wanderings marked the onset of his criminal activities, with his first confirmed murder occurring in 1912.

Military Service

Will Lockett, born Petrie Kimbrough in May 1888, enlisted in the United States Army and served during . As an African American soldier in the segregated U.S. military, he likely performed duties in a labor or support capacity typical for Black troops at the time, though specific unit assignments remain undocumented in available records. By early 1920, Lockett had been discharged and was working as a day in , but he was observed wearing his in the vicinity of Lexington shortly before the murder of Geneva Hardman on February 2, 1920. This detail emerged during the investigation, highlighting his recent status amid his post-service criminal activities.

Criminal History Prior to 1920

Murders in Other States

Lockett confessed to two murders committed in states other than prior to the killing of Hardman. In approximately 1912 or 1913, he claimed to have raped and strangled a white in . In 1917, he admitted to raping and strangling a in . These admissions were made during an on , 1920, shortly before his execution, in addition to confessing two other killings—one in and the Hardman murder itself. No independent corroboration of the Illinois or Indiana crimes has been documented in available records, and authorities did not pursue further investigations following his death. The confessions contributed to perceptions of Lockett as a serial offender, though some contemporary accounts later expressed skepticism about their veracity due to the absence of prior arrests or linkages to unsolved cases in those jurisdictions.

Pattern of Violence

Lockett's criminal history prior to the 1920 of Hardman revealed a pattern of against women and girls, culminating in their deaths by strangulation, beating, or severe assault. In December 1912, he raped and brutally attacked 25-year-old Clara Miller Rogers near railroad tracks in , inflicting injuries so grave that she succumbed the following spring. This incident marked the onset of his documented predatory behavior, targeting isolated females in rural or semi-rural settings. Subsequent confessions detailed additional assaults: in 1917, Lockett admitted to choking and raping another woman in , disposing of her body to conceal the crime. By 1919, Lockett's violence extended to a victim near Camp Zachary Taylor in , where he again employed lethal force via beating or strangulation, providing minimal details but consistent with his method of silencing witnesses after . He confessed to a total of three such murders across , , and before the Hardman killing, describing a of opportunistic predation on vulnerable individuals, often during travel or labor-related movements as a transient worker and later military veteran. These acts demonstrated escalating brutality, with victims uniformly subjected to followed by fatal violence to evade detection, underscoring a serial pattern unmitigated by prior encounters with . Lockett's admissions, made during in Eddyville, aligned with in those states, though formal linkages were limited by the era's investigative constraints.

The Geneva Hardman Murder

Circumstances of the Crime

On February 4, 1920, ten-year-old Geneva Hardman departed her home near South Elkhorn in southern , around 7:30 a.m. to walk to school along the Versailles Pike. She did not arrive at the South Elkhorn School, prompting concern among family and neighbors when she failed to return by mid-morning. The murder occurred approximately 7:45 a.m. near a bordering a large cornfield adjacent to the pike. at the scene indicated a violent struggle: deep mud tracks showed impressions from a large man's shoes alongside the child's smaller prints, a shallow dragging trail, and trampled areas suggesting resistance. Items belonging to Hardman, including a bent and a trampled hair ribbon, were found scattered nearby. Her body was discovered around 8:20 a.m. by Speed Collins, along with Claude B. Elkin and Foley, hidden about 100 feet into the field behind a stack and partially covered with stalks. The corpse exhibited signs of brutal assault, including strangulation and blunt force trauma, with a large blood-covered rock nearby identified as the likely weapon used to inflict fatal head injuries. Autopsy details confirmed death by crushing blows to the from the rock, compounded by evidence of prior to the fatal strikes, consistent with the perpetrator's later . The crime scene's muddy conditions preserved clear footprints leading from the road into the field, pointing to an opportunistic attack by an adult male who had been observed loitering in the area shortly before Hardman's departure.

Investigation and Confession

On February 4, 1920, farmer Speed Collins discovered Geneva Hardman's school satchel and hood near a cornfield along the Versailles Pike in southern , prompting an immediate search. Her body was located approximately 8:20 a.m. by Collins, along with Claude B. Elkin and Thomas Foley, showing evidence of a violent struggle, including bloodstains, a dragged trail, a bent , and a blood-covered rock nearby. Investigators noted large footprints from a man's shoes leading from the scene, and bloodhounds were deployed, tracing a northeast path toward Nicholasville in Jessamine County. Local witnesses provided key leads: Bettie McClubbing reported hearing no screams from the area, while described seeing a muddy man matching the suspect's description on the pike earlier that morning. By mid-afternoon, authorities focused on a suspect in Jessamine County based on the trail and witness accounts. At approximately 4:30 p.m., Dr. W. T. Collette and Deputy Sheriff W. C. White apprehended the man near Dixontown, who initially provided the alias "Will Hamilton" and was found wearing bloodied, mud-caked overalls consistent with the crime scene evidence. He was transported to Lexington police headquarters by 5:00 p.m., where began without legal present. During questioning around 5:00 p.m., Lockett confessed to the , detailing that he had encountered after speaking with Major James Woolfolk, carried her into the field for an attempted , and struck her repeatedly with a rock when she resisted, resulting in her death. He claimed unawareness of his motive beyond the assault attempt. Lockett later revealed his true identity as Petrie Kimbrough on March 8, 1920, and admitted to four additional murders and assaults in , , and , linking him to prior . These confessions were documented during his imprisonment at Eddyville Penitentiary prior to execution.

Arrest and Immediate Aftermath

Capture of Lockett

Will Lockett was apprehended on , 1920, at approximately 4:30 p.m. near Dixontown in , by Dr. W. T. Collette and Deputy Sheriff W. C. White from Versailles. Initially providing the alias "Will Hamilton," Lockett was identified by Lexington authorities as a known local burglar and bootlegger subject to an outstanding warrant; he wore a soiled uniform consistent with his recent service and carried mud- and blood-stained , which were immediately confiscated as evidence linking him to the . During his transport to Lexington police headquarters, conflicting reports emerged regarding his initial statements: one account indicated a to the en route, while another described denials of involvement under the pseudonym "Will Hampton." By 5:00 p.m. at headquarters, however, Lockett fully admitted guilt, detailing the assault on Geneva Hardman—including striking her with a rock after dragging her into a field and concealing the body with fodder from a nearby —which aligned with recovered earlier that day. Fearing imminent mob violence amid rising public fury over the child's brutal slaying, officers transferred Lockett to the Fayette County Jail briefly before relocating him to the State Reformatory in Frankfort at 5:40 p.m., where armed guards repelled early pursuers. This rapid removal underscored the volatile atmosphere, as crowds had already begun searching Lexington's jail and police facilities for the .

Initial Public Outrage

Following Lockett's arrest at approximately 4:30 p.m. on February 4, 1920, for the rape and strangulation murder of 10-year-old Geneva Hardman earlier that morning, immediate public fury erupted in . A crowd began assembling outside the Fayette County Jail on East Short Street shortly after Lockett's arrival there around 5:00 p.m., driven by reports of the crime's brutality against a local white schoolgirl. By 8:00 p.m., scores of armed men from the South Elkhorn community—where the occurred—had converged on the jail despite a severe that had disrupted telephone lines and hindered communication. These individuals, many arriving by automobile and horseback, demanded access to Lockett and conducted searches of the jail and nearby police headquarters, reflecting widespread demands for summary justice amid racial tensions heightened by the victim's youth and the assailant's identity as a veteran. Anticipating imminent , authorities swiftly relocated Lockett to the Kentucky State Reformatory in Frankfort by around 5:40 p.m., under guard to evade the growing threat. The mob, upon learning of the transfer, pursued leads to Frankfort, arriving near midnight, but was repelled by the Franklin County sheriff and reinforcements ordered by Governor Edwin P. Morrow. Local newspaper reports emphasized the peril, stating that "had any considerable party of the searchers found the man, it is believed that he would have been lynched without delay," while the jailer explicitly voiced fears of mob violence taking hold. This initial backlash, though contained through rapid intervention, foreshadowed the larger unrest that would escalate during Lockett's trial five days later.

The Lexington Riots

Mob Mobilization

Following Lockett's arrest on February 4, 1920, an initial crowd of several hundred gathered outside the Lexington jail by evening, fueled by reports of his confession to the rape and strangulation of 10-year-old Hardman earlier that month. Authorities swiftly transferred Lockett to the state penitentiary in Frankfort to avert immediate violence, dispersing the group without incident. The primary mobilization occurred on February 9, 1920, during Lockett's expedited trial at the Fayette County Courthouse, as word spread of his return under heavy guard and the likelihood of a swift guilty verdict. By 9:00 a.m., crowds numbering 5,000 to 6,000 had assembled around the building, including local white residents outraged by the crime's brutality, students, and bystanders attracted to the spectacle despite official warnings. The gathering swelled organically from public fury over Hardman's murder—described in contemporary accounts as a savage assault on a walking to —and Lockett's admissions to three prior killings in other states, which intensified perceptions of him as a habitual predator. No centralized leadership directed the mob, but a nucleus formed near the steps, where individuals, including one reportedly holding a rope, voiced explicit calls for Lockett's and urged others to seize him from custody. Participants, many armed with pistols looted from nearby pawnshops and stores, reflected broader post-World War I racial tensions in the South, where such crimes often provoked extrajudicial responses absent swift legal resolution. Additional reinforcements materialized from rural areas, with reports of approximately 1,500 armed mountaineers marching toward the city to join the effort. This convergence transformed the protest into a riotous on the as the deliberated, testing local and state forces' resolve to enforce .

Violence and Casualties

On February 9, , during Will Lockett's trial at the Fayette County Courthouse in , a of several thousand, inflamed by reports of the of 10-year-old Hardman, surged toward the building in an attempt to lynch the defendant. National Guard troops, deployed to maintain order, fired volleys into the advancing mob after warnings failed to disperse it, resulting in the deaths of five mob members and injuries to at least 17 others. The violence escalated as some mob participants returned fire on the guards, and reports emerged of in nearby stores for weapons, with additional casualties accumulating in the ensuing chaos; contemporary accounts tallied a total of six deaths, predominantly among the rioters. No fatalities occurred among or court personnel, though two women were among the wounded from stray gunfire. The confrontation, dubbed the "Second Battle of Lexington" by civil rights leader , marked a rare instance of state forces successfully repelling a lynch mob through lethal force, averting Lockett's extrajudicial execution. Subsequent investigations by a attributed the riot's casualties directly to the mob's aggression against fortified positions, with no prosecutions pursued against the guards for their actions in defense of . The episode underscored the intensity of public outrage over Lockett's crimes, including his confession to multiple murders, but also highlighted the role of armed state intervention in preventing vigilante justice.

Imposition of Martial Law

State Intervention

Governor Edwin P. Morrow responded to the mounting unrest in Lexington by mobilizing state resources shortly after Will Lockett's confession on February 6, 1920, dispatching an initial contingent of 75 Kentucky National Guard troops to safeguard the prisoner and maintain order amid growing threats of mob violence. This force was rapidly expanded to 200, and later 400, as crowds intensified outside the Fayette County Jail. Morrow's directives emphasized protecting Lockett to ensure his trial proceeded under legal auspices, reflecting a prioritization of judicial process over extrajudicial retribution despite the severity of the crime against Geneva Hardman. On February 9, 1920, immediately following Lockett's conviction and death sentence, a mob of thousands overwhelmed local police, prompting Morrow to certify a state of , which authorized federal intervention under provisions allowing the to request U.S. support when state forces proved inadequate. Morrow specifically appealed to the War Department for troops from Camp Taylor in Louisville, resulting in 400 federal soldiers arriving by special train at 3:30 p.m. that day, with reinforcements bringing the total to approximately 1,200 garrisoned in the city. This coordinated state-federal effort underscored Morrow's strategy to quell through overwhelming military presence, as he had earlier positioned additional guards at the Frankfort penitentiary to preempt mob pursuits. The governor's intervention facilitated the declaration of by Francis C. Marshall of the U.S. Army upon the federal troops' arrival, imposing curfews, road closures, and strict enforcement measures that lasted two weeks until order was restored on February 22, 1920. Under Morrow's oversight, Lockett was securely escorted from Lexington to Eddyville State Prison that evening by 500 guards, averting a and enabling his scheduled execution on March 11, 1920. This response, while controversial for its use of lethal force against civilians, demonstrated the state's resolve to enforce the in the face of racially charged public fury.

Enforcement and Suppression

Following the outbreak of violence on February 9, 1920, during Will Lockett's trial at the Fayette County Courthouse, Governor Edwin P. Morrow authorized the deployment of state troops to enforce order, with F. G. Marshall declaring to assert military authority over civil unrest. Approximately 600 troops, including units from the , established defensive positions around the courthouse and began patrolling Lexington's streets to prevent further mob incursions and of gun shops by rioters seeking arms. When the mob of several thousand charged the barriers at around 9:28 a.m., seeking to seize Lockett, the Guard responded with followed by volleys of rifle fire, dispersing the crowd and halting the immediate attempt. This action resulted in at least five confirmed deaths among the mob—B. F. Carrier, John Thomas, E. M. King, Will Ethrington, and T. M. Rogers—and 17 wounded, though contemporaneous reports estimated up to six killed and over 50 wounded, including three policemen and one soldier. Reinforcements, including a and the First Division regulars from Camp Taylor, arrived by 3:20 p.m., conducting sweeps to clear remaining crowds without additional and securing the city against reports of 1,500 armed mountaineers approaching from rural areas. Under , troops imposed strict compliance with military commands, patrolled to suppress and gatherings, and guarded Lockett's transfer to the state penitentiary, enabling the trial to conclude with a guilty verdict that afternoon. Suppression efforts yielded few arrests initially due to the chaos, and a subsequent special investigation into the mob violence produced no indictments, citing risks of renewed unrest. Order was restored sufficiently by mid-February, allowing to be lifted on February 22, 1920, after which civil authorities resumed control and Lockett's execution proceeded on March 11.

Courtroom Evidence

The primary evidence in Will Lockett's trial centered on his confession to the murder of 10-year-old Geneva Hardman, obtained by Lexington police on the evening of February 4, 1920, shortly after his arrest. According to Assistant Police Chief Ernest Thompson and Detective Dudley Veal, Lockett admitted attempting to rape Hardman on her way to school near South Elkhorn, but when she resisted, he crushed her skull with a large rock found near the body. The confession was given without the presence of counsel, and Lockett later reiterated details of the crime while incarcerated at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, where he also confessed to four additional murders in Illinois, Indiana, and elsewhere. Physical evidence linking Lockett directly to the scene was absent or inconclusive. No was found on his clothing despite the violent nature of the attack, and no eyewitnesses placed him with Hardman on the morning of February 4. Footprints—one small set consistent with a child's and one larger adult set—led from a nearby road to the body, but these were not forensically tied to Lockett. findings confirmed blunt force trauma as the but revealed no evidence of , undermining the attempted rape element of the . Lockett entered a guilty plea, shifting the trial's focus to sentencing, with the jury tasked only with deciding between death or . Prosecutors presented the police testimony on the , while the defense, led by attorneys including Colonel , introduced evidence of Lockett's honorable service as a veteran in , arguing for mercy based on his military record. Lockett himself did not testify, offering only mumbled, inaudible responses during proceedings interpreted by others for Judge Charles Kerr. The jury deliberated for approximately 35 minutes before recommending .

Jury Deliberation and Verdict

The trial of Will Lockett began on , 1920, in Lexington's Fayette County Courthouse, under tight security from the National Guard to deter the lynch mob assembled outside. presented included Lockett's detailed to the and strangulation of 10-year-old Geneva Hardman on January 31, 1920, as well as his admissions to four prior murders of women in , corroborated by authorities there. The all-white jury deliberated briefly after closing arguments and returned a unanimous guilty verdict for first-degree murder later that same day. In at the time, such a carried an automatic death sentence recommendation, which the jury endorsed without dissent, reflecting the irrefutable nature of Lockett's self-incriminating statements and physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. The presiding judge formally imposed the sentence of death by immediately following the verdict, scheduling execution for March 11, 1920, at the in Eddyville. Lockett offered no defense beyond his , which he reiterated in court, forgoing appeals or pleas for mercy amid the charged atmosphere. The swift jury process underscored the era's judicial efficiency in capital cases with clear , contrasting sharply with the external mob violence that had necessitated earlier in the proceedings.

Sentencing and Execution

Appeal Attempts

Lockett's defense counsel, which included Lexington attorney Samuel M. Wilson, faced significant challenges in mounting any post-conviction challenges amid the heightened security measures and public outrage following the February 9, 1920, guilty verdict in . The trial's rapid conclusion—spanning just hours from to sentencing—reflected the state's urgency to avert by the thousands-strong mob outside the courthouse, where troops had been deployed under Edwin P. Morrow's orders. This context limited opportunities for substantive appellate review, as Lockett was immediately transferred under heavy guard to the at Eddyville for execution. No formal appeal to the Court of Appeals appears to have delayed proceedings, with the death sentence by carried out on March 11, 1920, less than five weeks after conviction. Lockett's to Hardman's and murder, corroborated by and , provided prosecutors with an ironclad case that defense attorneys struggled to contest, particularly given the era's procedural norms for capital cases involving interracial violence. While Wilson's involvement included gathering legal papers and correspondence related to the defense, available records do not document a successful motion for or reversal, underscoring the conviction's finality under prevailing law. The absence of prolonged appeals aligned with state priorities to enforce judicial over extrajudicial retribution, as evidenced by the governor's of over 500 troops to safeguard Lockett post-trial. This expedited timeline, though atypical for death penalty cases, prevented the mob violence that had plagued similar incidents in the region, affirming institutional control at the cost of extended .

Final Days and Death

Petrie Kimbrough, known by the alias Will Lockett, was transferred to the at Eddyville immediately after his February 9, 1920, sentencing, under intensified security including three soldiers and a to deter mob interference. In the ensuing weeks, he engaged in prayer and reading, displaying a composed demeanor as he prepared spiritually for death. On March 8, 1920, three days prior to his execution, Lockett revealed his birth name as Petrie Kimbrough, born in May 1888 in , and confessed to Warden John B. Chilton the details of four additional murders: the 1912 strangulation of Mrs. George Rogers in ; the 1917 strangulation of Eliza Moorman in ; the 1919 strangulation of Sallie Anderson Kraft near Camp Taylor, Kentucky; and the killing of a young girl named Geneva Hardman in Lexington. Each involved followed by manual strangulation, corroborating patterns from his trial testimony. He underwent on March 9 by a minister using a annex. Lockett was electrocuted in the before sunrise on March 11, 1920—the 32nd such execution at Eddyville—after Chilton administered the lethal current until death was confirmed. The brothers of victim Geneva Hardman attended as witnesses. No public record exists of final statements, though his recent confessions and religious activities indicated acceptance of his fate.

Historical Context and Legacy

Racial and Social Dynamics

The murder of 10-year-old white girl Geneva Hardman by Black veteran Will Lockett on February 4, 1920, near , exemplified the volatile interracial tensions of the Jim Crow era, where crimes by Black men against white victims—particularly involving and children—often provoked extrajudicial mob rooted in pervasive fears of Black male predation. Lockett's assault and strangulation of Hardman, confirmed by his own and , aligned with his pattern of targeting white females across states, intensifying white communal outrage in a society enforcing strict and . By February 9, 1920, during Lockett's trial at the Fayette County Courthouse, a white mob estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 gathered, demanding his immediate lynching, reflecting the era's normalization of such responses amid post-World War I anxieties over social upheaval, including returning Black veterans like Lockett who had gained military experience and a sense of entitlement to civil rights. The confrontation escalated into a riot, with four deaths (including two bystanders shot by guards) and multiple injuries, as local police and National Guard troops fired on the crowd to prevent a courthouse breach—the first documented instance in the South of authorities successfully repelling a lynch mob through armed resistance. This event underscored the causal link between sensational interracial crimes and mob dynamics, fueled by sensationalized media reports and underlying racial hierarchies that viewed Black criminality as an existential threat to white purity and order. In response, Francis C. Marshall declared in Lexington on February 9, 1920, deploying federal troops to enforce curfews, patrol streets, and safeguard Lockett's transfer, thereby prioritizing legal process over despite the racial provocation—a rare intervention that highlighted fractures in the prevailing system of informal racial control. Socially, the case illuminated broader dynamics in , a border state with a substantial population under disenfranchisement and economic subjugation, where against perceived Black threats temporarily overrode class divisions, yet the swift and execution of Lockett on March 11, 1920, after his confessions to additional murders, affirmed on violence while averting anarchy. The suppression of the mob, amid the Ku Klux Klan's resurgence, signaled emerging pressures for institutional restraint, influenced by national anti-lynching campaigns, though it did not eradicate underlying racial animosities that persisted through the . These events also reflected causal realities of the period: Lockett's military service abroad contrasted sharply with domestic racial subjugation, amplifying white resentments tied to fears of Black empowerment post-war, as evidenced by contemporaneous riots like the . Yet, the empirical record shows the mob's fury was not baseless hysteria but a reaction to verifiable brutality, with Lockett's serial offenses against white victims documenting a pattern that reinforced stereotypes of Black criminality in segregated communities lacking integrated policing or . Ultimately, the Lockett case demonstrated how racial dynamics intersected with , where state intervention preserved but exposed the fragility of civil authority in racially charged crises.

Significance for Rule of Law

The Will Lockett case exemplified the prioritization of over mob justice in early 20th-century , particularly amid intense racial tensions following the of a white child by a perpetrator. On February 9, 1920, after Lockett's and rapid guilty plea in a lasting approximately 35 minutes, a crowd estimated at 5,000 gathered outside the Lexington Courthouse, intent on him. troops, deployed under Governor Edwin P. Morrow's orders, intervened decisively, exchanging gunfire with the mob and resulting in six deaths and around 50 injuries among the agitators. This forceful suppression marked a rare instance in the where state authorities used lethal force to protect a from extrajudicial violence, ensuring his transfer to Eddyville Penitentiary for a scheduled legal execution. The state's commitment to due process in Lockett's case drew national acclaim for upholding the . The New York Times and civil rights advocate commended Kentucky officials for preventing , contrasting sharply with prevalent lynchings elsewhere in the era, where over 4,000 such incidents occurred between 1882 and 1968, disproportionately targeting Black individuals. Lockett's execution by on March 11, 1920—less than five weeks after the crime—proceeded without further mob interference, reinforcing institutional authority over public outrage. This outcome highlighted causal mechanisms of state power, including military readiness and gubernatorial resolve, in deterring collective lawlessness. In legacy, the Lockett incident catalyzed legislative advancements against in , which enacted the nation's first state anti-lynching law shortly thereafter, imposing severe penalties such as death or for participants. The events underscored the rule of law's role in maintaining social order during crises, even as critics noted procedural shortcomings like the absence of defense counsel during Lockett's and the expedited . By subordinating emotional retribution to evidentiary and judicial standards, the case affirmed principles of causal accountability through formalized systems, influencing subsequent efforts to curb mob rule nationwide.

References

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