A 19-year-old black lynch victim’s death certificate is finally changed from suicide to murder 100 years after he was found hanging from a tree in Indianapolis with his hands tied behind his back.
- 19-year-old George Tompkins was found hanging from a tree in Riverside Park in Indianapolis on March 16, 1922.
- His death was ruled a “suicide”, although the Marion County Coroner at the time said that Tompkins had his hands tied behind his back.
- On Saturday, his death was officially changed to “murder” thanks to the Indiana Memorial Coalition’s campaign.
- Tompkins, from Kentucky, wanted to start his life in Indianapolis after living with his great aunts and uncle and never getting in trouble with the law.
- A tombstone was unveiled in his memory on the 100th anniversary of his death.
George Tompkins, aged 19, was found dead and hanged from a tree in Riverside Park, Indianapolis on March 16, 1922. The young man’s death was ruled a ‘suicide’, although the Marion County coroner at the time said Tompkins ‘could not have hung himself’
A black lynch victim’s death certificate finally changed the cause of death from suicide to murder, 100 years after he was found hanging from a tree with his hands tied behind his back.
19-year-old George Tompkins was found hanged in Riverside Park with his hands tied on March 16, 1922, and last week the Indiana Memorial Coalition announced that it had successfully convinced the Indianapolis coroner to renew Tompkins’ death certificate after a year-long campaign.
The press release also said that the motive for Tompkins’ death was never revealed, although members of the coalition believe that Tompkins’ murder most likely had racist motives.
Ranjita Brar, a member of the Indiana Coalition of Remembrance, told Fox 59 that Tompkins was from Kentucky and that he wanted to start his life in Indianapolis after living with his great aunt and uncle.
And after his death, the Marion County coroner at the time said that Tompkins “couldn’t have hanged himself,” even though his death certificate was still signed as a suicide.
“About 100 years ago, someone in the coroner’s office made a decision that left history behind us in such a negative way,” said Marion County Deputy Chief Coroner Alfie McGuinty.
“We will remember, we will restore justice to what was shameless for me that something like this could happen 100 years ago,” she added.
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The Indiana Memorial Coalition, which has been fighting for the truth about Tompkins’ death since last year, released a new death certificate for Tompkins on Saturday after his cause of death was officially changed from “suicide” to “homicide” nearly 100 years after the young man’s death. death
A headstone has also been unearthed to commemorate a 19-year-old race-lynching victim (pictured), 100 years after the wrongful filling was made.
The new death certificate was presented on Saturday at Floral Park Cemetery, where members of the Remembrance Coalition held a ceremony. Tompkins’ death is now officially ruled a homicide, although no one has ever been named as a suspect or arrested for the murder.
The ceremony also revealed a tombstone in his memory.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, who attended the event, expressed anger that justice came 100 years later than for the local community and for Tompkins.
“It should not have happened that Indianapolis officials called this apparent murder an unlikely and physically impossible act of suicide,” Hogsett said.
“I urge the city of Indianapolis to remind us that while we may be subject to the holy authority of God in the next world, it is human authority that determines who receives justice here and now. Public officials like myself and others must preserve and promote equal justice for all residents of our city… Indianapolis can and must recognize a fuller story of its history.”
The Equal Justice Initiative solved 18 lynching cases in Indiana between 1877 and 1950.
Tompkins’ death, which appeared on the front pages of Indianapolis newspapers in 1922, was just one of 18 lynchings that took place in Indiana between 1877 and 1950.
At the time, lynchings motivated by racial terror were common in the US, with most of them taking place in the southern states. More than 4,000 cases have occurred in southern states, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.
To date, lynching is still not recognized as a federal crime nationwide after strong opposition from Southern senators.
However, that may soon change after the Senate approved an anti-lynching bill last week. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill soon, though no date has yet been given.