In the first place, all of the machinery of the law is in the hands of the white man. He is judge, jury, sheriff, constable, and policeman.
Race prejudice and antipathy so over-ride reason, that the average dispenser of justice is blinded to a sense of right, especially when a white man appears against an accused Negro. What is sop for the white man, is not always sop for the black man. As a matter of fact, the black man is discriminated against in everything in the South, and it would be unreasonable to expect the courts would do otherwise.
The presumption of law is that the accused is innocent, and that presumption stands as a witness in his favor until overcome by credible proof. But in the average court of the South, this applies to white men only. The Negro is presumed to be guilty, and the burden of proof is placed upon him to establish his innocence.
Cases have come under my observation where the accused Negro was not only tried without being represented by counsel, but on ex parte evidence, the black defendant not being permitted to testify in his own behalf or to introduce proof. These cases were not in courts of record.
The organic law of the land guarantees not only trial by jury on an indictment or presentment, but entitles the accused to be heard by himself and counsel and to introduce witnesses. In some instances, the accused is not even in court. The matter is prearranged and the imprisoned wretch is informed afterward and forced into agreeing to the "sentence," as the easiest way out of trouble. It is a rare thing now to see a Negro on a jury In the South.
Even the Federal courts are ignoring him. A white man does not consider a Negro his peer. Then from a white man's standpoint, a colored man tried by a white jury is not tried by his peers.
The Constitution is violated in letter and spirit, in order that the criminal Negro may not be justly dealt with. The greater the demand to keep the convict ranks filled up, the more unjustly is the black criminal dealt with in the severity of the sentence.
The very fact that Negroes are not permitted to serve on juries, even when all the parties are black, proves that it is for the purpose of preventing justice being done the accused Negro.
One of the most popular courts in the South is the Court of Judge Lynch. This "court" comes pretty nearly voicing the sentiment of the section where it thrives and does a large business. Members of this court are summoned as jurors to try Negroes, in legal courts, and thus the mob spirit is carried into the very temple of justice and is meted out to the black criminal in the name of the law. In such cases, who could expect a just verdict? Again, the professional juror, believing his job depends on the number and severity of the convictions of Negroes, is always ready to strain a point in order to convict.
Instead of giving the accused the benefit of the doubt, he seeks to ease his guilty conscience by rapping criminal laws.