Black man's death in Indiana ruled a lynching (not a suicide) nearly 100 years later

Source: NBC News

Black man's death in Indiana ruled a lynching nearly 100 years later

George Tompkins was found hanging from a tree with his hands bound behind his back in Indianapolis in 1922, and his death was initially ruled a suicide.

March 14, 2022, 3:51 PM -04
By David K. Li

The death of a young Black man who was found hanging from a tree in Indiana nearly 100 years ago has finally been ruled a lynching, officials said.

Even though 19-year-old George Tompkins' hands had been bound behind his back, the Indianapolis slaying was ruled a suicide in 1922 and no one was ever arrested.

The record was corrected Saturday as Marion County Deputy Chief Coroner Alfie McGinty displayed a new death certificate that listed Tompkins' passing as the result of homicide.

“We will bring justice to something that was unconscionable to me," McGinty said. "We are proud to be a part of this history some 100 years later, and we will remember George Tompkins."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-mans-death-indiana-ruled-lynching-nearly-100-years-later-rcna19955