Thank you to the viewer who recommended we cover this story! If you've a case or story from the past you'd like us to make an episode about, let me know :)
The Dr. Snook murder case from 1929 is interesting. Dr. Snook was a two time 1920 Olympic gold medalist in shooting and was a veterinarian of some renowned (he designed a surgical instrument veterinarians still use during a spay - the Snook hook). He was a professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbus, Ohio. He murdered Theora Hix, a twenty-four year old medical student with whom he was having an affair. The case involves Spanish Fly, marijuana, and irregular (for the time) sex practices. What is especially interesting is that it is not clear how much of the narrative about the case is true and how much Dr. Snook made up. After a media circus trial, Snook was executed in the electric chair only 261 days after the murder.
They killed him for money. Like it or not, that's a reason and it happens every day. People bash in other people's head for ten bucks and governments go to war over oil (that's money) and power (power is who controls the money). Deal with it..
@@simonvanderheijden432 Everybody deals with it in their own way. One manifestation is this lynching depicted in this video, another one is voicing out one's disgust like OP did. Mine is taking satisfaction in the fact that despite expensive lawyers and a plan to abuse loopholes in the law these mofos didn't manage to escape what was coming to them. Your attitude seems more like something akin to nihilism; don't bother to do anything as it happens anyway all over the world. I personally don't understand that approach.
@@simonvanderheijden432 I feel like you saying "deal with it" is such a pathetic thing to say. It's like darksouls players who just say "git gud" to players that aren't on their perceived level of skill. You believe yourself superior due to your detachment from the situation, but I think you'd have a different reaction if you didn't have a computer screen to hide behind XD
Especially, when one of the murderer's father could afford to pay a $10,000 Retainer for an attorney! Sounds like the Leopold & Loeb Kidnapping/Murder Case around that time. Spoiled, Rich kids with nothing better to do with their time and their parents' money, than to kill a young boy for, "thrills" and to see what's it like to kill someone. Absolutely degenerate! Yet, many people believe the wealthy have Humanity, Class, and a "proper upbringing". ANYONE can commit atrocities for money, power, possessions, etc. But, oftentimes when the Affluent commit serious crimes, it shows that Money cannot buy Character, Morals, or a Conscience.
Poor young man. He had the right to live his life, get married, and have kids. I bet he would have been a kind philanthropist like his Dad and his brother.
In the white mob was probably pissed off because they couldn't find no black man I tell you these race soldiers they are something else they do all this wrong in the world and don't want to apologize for it
It's amazing you don't see this kind of outrage when atrocities happens today. A lowlife can abduct a baby or woman ,kill the baby or woman and when they're caught you don't see a mob trying to kill the killer. Were people less civilized in the old days?
Great story and little-known piece of history. A neighbor (from California) was going on about lynchings in the South. When I mentioned this incident (from his town of San Jose) he was shocked, especially when he called his aunt (raised in San Jose) who verified the story. Lynching happens any place where people feel they're not getting justice fast enough. One Indian fellow told me of a dozen lynchings in his city in India during a two-year period in the 90's involving pedophiles, murderers, and a corrupt politician (that one shocked me as I thought politicians never got lynched, just reelected.).
The only moral issue I really have with lynching is that the crowd virtually NEVER waits for guilt to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Many colored men were accused of rape or pedophilia. Some of them were in genuine consensual interracial relationships with another adult. I have zero clue how many were guilty because nobody ever bothered to prove anything. They just drew blood for the thrill of it. And that’s exactly why minorities were lynched more often than not. It was a way for the Klan to commit terrorist acts under the guise of “criminal justice.”
In india lynching is quite common..even in today times ..most of the times the mob " suspects" them to be child abductors ,traffickers, rapists .. or when accidents on road happens.. and if they are caught they are beaten up pretty bad ..my dad told me how common this is specially truck drivers most accident cases involves truck drivers and if they caught by the mob they would be dead
My mother and grandmother were shopping downtown when this occurred. From the noise they wondered what was happening and walked over to St. James Park just as the men were being "strung up". She told me it was horrible. I remember that all her life my mother would leave the room if we were watching a western movie and there was going to be a lynching. She had told me that people were so irate that Brooke Hart was already dead when the kidnappers finally asked for the ransom, that that is what pushed them to commit the lynching.
They story stated that the mob formed outside of the jail at 9pm & that it was after 12pm before the mob made their way inside. My reason for pointing this out isn't to be rude or dispute the truth of your story. Rather to suggest that perhaps they had been out doing something other than shopping? ( dinning, dancing, visiting friends)
I've read Swift Justice and it is the most bizarre story. The incompetence of Holmes and Thurmond was breath taking, possible exemplified by the fact that Thurmond bought three concrete blocks from a concrete supplier, (which nearly always dealt in bulk supplies) who of course identified him afterwards, selecting them after lifting them up and down to check they were heavy enough for the task. That alone is enough to show that they intended to murder Brooke Hart from the outset.
They’re so stupid. They thought that they could get away with it but nope, they had to leave traces. 🤦♀️ With the information you mentioned, it does mean that they wanted to do him away from the start. I think the money was just an excuse since it kept on getting lower and lower. If I wanted to kidnap someone for ransom I would have even hiked up the ransom money. I would have made sure the victim won’t be able to identify me and anyone else.
I read Harry Farrell's very well researched book, too. I was most disturbed that he found witness reports of the abductors moving Brooke from his Studebaker to the sedan and three other men were involved. That may have had something to do with why Rolf, who I understand was a corrupt mayor and governer, pardoned the lynchers.
My grandmother told us about this when my siblings and I were kids. Her husband was a deputy constable in Santa Clara, so he had to go help with the crowd. My grandmother could hear the crowd from where they lived. She was so scared, because the most my grandfather ever did in that role was serve subpoenas. The sound of the crowd is something she never forgot.
@@averyisaiah1 I'm probably one of the very few here that can't help but believe that if the America shown in this video was still here, we wouldn't have near the amount of crime that we do now. Over the long decades as punishment for criminals became less and less, more and more criminals became emboldened.
@@HighHolyOne The narrator wasn't referring to the next day, or the day after that, he was referring to the progression of time, which correlates with what I said. When a nation's laws that are in place to act as a deterrent against crime and punish those who commit said crimes, becomes weaker and weaker as the decades go by, then of course you are going to have ever increasing crime. That's just a simple truth and it can be evidenced every time we turn on the television, or get on the internet. Sadly, it will only continue getting worse, it's inevitable
@@HighHolyOne They increased despite of the lynching, not because of them. It is almost certain that they would have increased by a larger amount if not for the fear of being lynched.
I always wonder what killers who are lynched and tortured think while begging.... if they then realize what their victims went through... or if it's just a narcissistic feel where they don't even realize they're in the same circumstance. Begging to be unharmed. To live. In fear.
My grandparents were at the hanging. Grandma was 9 and grandpa was 13. It was a family event to go and see the mob and killing. Both recalled the event fondly and as a happy memory. They also used the term hanging over lynching. One difference in their account vs what was reported in the video was that - according to them - it was the mainly the kids in the crowd that swarmed the men to rip off souvenirs. They both said that the adults encouraged them and let them through. And that the men who tried to grab souvenirs were hit by the other men to "let the kids have a go". My grandma said, the next day at school they compared what they got (if anything). Her brother was very popular because he had ripped hair from one of the men. When my great grandma found out, she made him put holy water, salt, and burn the hair. Worried the hair would bring evil into the house.
That is a disgusting story, stomach churning. That's something so shameful I would never mention if I was them. What parents would bring or let their kids attend the murder of other human being? 😢
@@Spillers72 I initially had the same reaction and then I thought it's good for humans to be reminded of how evil exists everywhere and we must choose to be be better , it's not necessarily an inate thing .
@@jenrutherford6690 it's an old blood lust within humans, it doesn't remind you of evil but of vengeance and feeds anger and rage. It's a low level of social and spiritual development.
I grew up near Skidmore Missouri. Are you familiar with that incident? Might be worth a video. Town bully was shot by 13 different guns in the middle of Main Street and “nobody saw anything”. Dude was a real pos.
Can't remember his name at all, but I remember reading about that one! I don't condone mob justice but in that case it really seemed unavoidable, he kept getting away with things and that was the only way to solve it.
That is a weird story, for sure. In that case, it was pretty clear that everyone was afraid of him, even law enforcement. When all else failed, the last resort was an "extra-judicial" solution. I certainly would never condone vigilantism, but but McElroy represented a real, and present danger...to the whole community, and no one seemed able or willing to stop him.
I don't have much sympathy for the murderers and am not particularly bothered by their lynching. However, it is somewhat disconcerting to see how thin the so-called "veneer of civilization" can be under certain conditions. Thank you for the post & I look forward to more of them.
@@gregh7400 how do you fix the system when one party participates in deep state collusion and voter fraud and then won't prosecute their own party equally, our "victims" can attack your citizens
@@gregh7400 before you say there was no voter fraud, it's all on video a video/audio of election workers discussing election fraud and intention to steal the election for democrat politicians, denying americans voting, elections and a democracy. #power to the evil not the people! context, this discussion is within ear shot of several election workers, all are on board election worker 1: we are 30,000 ballot behind(trump was ahead by 30K at this time) election worker 2: i'm going to vote, it's time take out those boxes and do our thing election supervisor: we can't just have 1000, 2000 votes come thru election worker 2: we asked you to do something about it election worker 1: make an announcement and we'll make a move tomorrow(to fix the actual ballots) election supervisor 1: take out them boxes and get some results(on the election) election worker: you are part of our country(help us steal an election for our self, end this democracy with us) election supervisor 2: listen carefully, you can be heard(why would that be a problem, unless they were discussing election fraud) election supervisor 1: we have an entire evening to wipe this over, sethmon can unlock the voting machines! election supervisor 2: problem is we only have 3 flip machines, and it's impossible to watch the flip machines, we sh9uold just get another, we need 3000 people to stop counting to catch up link 4.... you can then watch CCTV video of them doing EXACTLY as they discussed
Based on their own admission, those two murderers got what they deserved. But the lynching to mete it out was wrong. As Ernie Buchinski suggests, the "veneer of civilization" was very thin that night, especially with a Governor refusing to hold to the rule of law. What the lynchers did was patently wrong, both legally and in principle. It is the same mentality that today can be found in Road Rage. What the two murderers did was beyond wrong. As mentioned by Elizabeth Finkler Hanasaki, they would never have gone free.
I have those same ambivalent feelings. No sympathy for the scum bags, but would it have been better to have them put on trial and convicted first? I truly don't don't, and I don't know that it would have provided the family with a better sense of justice, or would it have made their agony all the more exquisite to know the details of their child's suffering. I can't say, and I don't know if there is a right or wrong opinion. As long as they got the right men, then I think justice was served, and only the parents and family can say if it was total satisfaction. I doubt that they could even answer that one with any certainty.
Harry Farrell wrote an excellent account of the case, “Swift Justice.” According to it, if the kidnapping case had fallen through, Alameda County would have proceeded with a homicide prosecution. (Evidence at the scene indicated that Brooke Hart was thrown from the Hayward end of the San Mateo Bridge.) While all this was going on, the Federal prosecutor in San Francisco was preparing a case against the kidnappers for extortion using the mails. I say it’s highly unlikely they would have gotten off scot-free. Fun fact: The mob included Brooke Hart’s friend, former child star and future Uncle Fester, Jackie Coogan.
That little tidbit at the end of your post blew my mind. And wow! Jackie Coogan had an amazing life. And seemed to be an OK guy, which is nice for once.
@@forrestgreene1139 Hey Forrest, I live in the state of Washington. Did you attend High School in that state ? I think we were classmates ? No, Seriously. LOL. Wouldn't that be WEIRD "If " it really was you and I found you by responding to a You Tube video. Just the thought is Funny.
My Grangfather was there, after sneaking out of the house with his oldest brother. He said he never seen the culprits being so small in the crowd but he knew when the second man died as the large crowd went almost silent.
As a side note, it was said that the actor Jackie Coogan that played uncle Fester on the Addams family was one of the vigilantes. He was a college friend of Brooke. Apparently he tied or handled the rope they used to string them up. Badass friend.
A friend of mine's mom lived in San Jose at the time. She was a young girl and they could hear the noise created by the lynch mob. She said it was terrifying.
@@irenecarhart if he starts wearing tortoise shell glasses and tweed blazers with elbow patches, I’m just calling it now, he’ll officially be History Daddy™️
How is it that Holmes' father could afford such a high-priced attorney to save his son's life, especially at that time? Wouldn't that imply he had the funds to support his son to avoid the kidnap/murder scheme in the beginning?
His father probably didn't want to support him in his daily life, but was willing to keep his son from going to jail forever. Not that unusual of a thing.
I find it very hard to sympathize with the kidnappers, at all. They murdered a decent, hardworking, responsible young man. Neither seemed destitute. They murdered him before even attempting to get ransom, brutally and in cold blood.
True. If they really just wanted money they whouldn't kill him. They whould have kept him alive and take the money, and what were they thinking, that ppl whould not want to get their hands on them after they murderd a beloved member of the community?
@@lenwilkinson672 It was not for a mob to decide their fate. That is what courts are for. Also "“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement."
@@Quotenwagnerianeroral compass" lol sorry if these savages disrupt the values of your clean and pure morality lol "many people that lived deserved death and many people that died deserved life", well let me get this straight to you "moral man" the young man that they kidnapped and murderered was an innocent person and was a contributor to society and he did not deserve to die while his kidnappers are murderers that killed an innocent person ( it might be that money is not only their motive as they killed their victim first before asking for ransom it is possible that they also want to kill that person) those two kidnappers and murderers certainly do not belong to "people that died that deserve to live", moral man it is not your morality that is shrewed, your MIND is
I read a story were a robber shoot 2 people in the head and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. He was out in under 15 years and someone saw him shopping at the same store. We don't care about the victims anymore. How can anyone that kills 1st degree ever walk free again?
This is what happens when the justice system is taken over by bourgeoisie-lefties, who preach about how evil police is while living in gated communities guarded by armed security. They care more about the rights of the criminals than the rights of their victims. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if a criminal is let out of prison and he reoffends, whoever gave him a light sentence or let him out on parole should be tried as an accomplice.
@5678sothourn that's ridiculous. Woke culture has always existed, causing society to decay for decades now. It's only just in the past few years that leftist has gotten co.pletely out of control.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area the majority of my life, I grew up in Milpitas and San José, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard this story. Thanks for sharing this. I absolutely love your channel. Keep up the great work.
What a fascinating and horrific tale, beautifully told and presented. Such a grim story.. not wanting to give *spoilers,* but poor Brooke! Frightening what the mob did to the accused.. I guess they felt it was the only way justice could be served.. and they got away with a crime themselves! Thank you, Paul (and to the subscriber who suggested this case)..
@@maycasper2661 I hear what you're saying, May.. but if someone hits, say, your friend and you hit them back, that's no longer self defence. However, I feel no sympathy for such monsters and am glad this bunch got what they deserved!
@@maycasper2661 I don’t think you understand the term “self-defense”. Those two men were locked away in jail cells. Who were they going to “hit”? It was an out and out violent criminal mob bent on avenging their outrage. Call it what it was.
for me, i support the death penalty for people who commit hanous crimes like this, the death penalty should only come to rapists and criminals like this. these people werent gonna get the death penalty. so the people gave them the death penalty. in the end they got what they deserved.
@@pimpozza There can be self-defense in defense of a third party. It is legal to intervene if you see someone else being attacked. Although I don't feel the actions of a lynch mob can ever really be described as self-defense, especially if the guilty party has already been arrested and is in jail. There have been plenty of lynchings that happened to people who hadn't been arrested for anything. But again, still wrong.
What they did to cause this guy to drown slowly rather than a quick death is unforgivable. When you think of the thousands of murders today just as evil and no one cares it just shows how we have changed!
Apparently the two didn’t understand the meaning of “kidnap for ransom”. Their actions sound more like “murder for hire”. If the one guy’s father could afford a high dollar attorney…what was Brook’s murder about anyway? They had killed him, even before the first ransom call. Maybe Brooks recognized one or both of them. (that could be a deep rabbit hole). As far as the mob lynching…PLEASE don’t include the impressionable children. Thank you for sharing this story!
@@gregh7400 It said in the video that he Drowned, and that there people who even heard his calls for help. Can't do that if dropped dead over a bridge railing.
Wow. They didn’t even try to keep him alive just murdered him immediately. That is a horrible way to go. These guys don’t seem insanely bright either. Giving kidnapping for ransom an even worse name.
I went to the same high school as Brooke. The story was not mentioned even once. By 1979 the story had been forgotten. The book on the event was written thereafter and I read it with interest.
I am familiar with this story and it breaks my heart, even now, all these years later. In fact, Brooke was the inspiration for my novel. So terribly sad.
I never thought l could imagine a scenario where l would condone lynching but, this utterly senseless and callous murder of an obviously fine young man by a pair of thugs, seems to fit the bill. I guess the crowd wanted them to get a feel of the terror and pain they put him through rather than whatever nicely sanitised sanction the state could offer.
With the rising power and influence of the gangs, people probably thought that there were too many possible avenues for bribes that would ensure justice was *not* done. Many ordinary police officers were corrupt, supervisors and commissioners were grossly corrupt and both levels were often incompetent. On top of the, umm, stinky pile were politicians. I agree with you about this being one of the rare times one can imagine condoning mob justice. However I do think if the lynchers had had faith in their Law Enforcement and Justice systems (ha! Yeah, that sounds realistic!) they might have been content for official justice to take its course.
The mob justice also hurt other people who were just doing their jobs, if anything, the people participating in the mob justice only proved that they were just as capable of the level of callous violence that the two kidnappers/murderers do.
I remember the Hart's Department stores when I was a little kid. Then, several years later, when I read the book "Swift Justice" about this case, I went & visited the actual locations where the lynchings took place. It was an eerie feeling visiting the area (not just because it's kind of a run-down area, either.)
I did the same thing! The infamous tree, the store (the rear wall still stands and is painted HART'S with a big red heart), the courthouse. Still live in the valley. Remember the Murphy Murders? They have a mass grave in Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose, have rubbings of that one. The Valley of Heart's Delight my eye!
@@Phlowermom is that the Graves one street, whatever the roads are called in from Monterey lined up? A family was killed on same day and couldn't find a lot of info other than an uncle went after the killers. My parents are in same block of Graves. A few inches away, Literally, is a stone for a woman and her two children murdered of Almaden just past Blossom Hill. They had no site so my dad let them use part of my mom's location. Figured she would like company
@@stevevaughn2040 Sorry, I got the name wrong, it's the McGlincy Murders of 1896. You can see it in Find-a-Grave, they're buried side by side and taken altogether their headstones read "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord". Never found the perpetrator/s.
I was born and raised in the California bay area and just now learning about this crime story. Truly a tragic story with serious emotional details. Thank you 👏🏼 for sharing a bit of history of my home stomping grounds. Peace 🕊
I've lived in San Jose all my life. I recall times when my father would drive by St. James Park he would mention the kidnapping and lynching. Finally found a book about it, Swift Justice, at our history park. A tragic and senseless event.
They committed a vile act to a member of a community. Then they were treated with the same level of respect. The likelihood of them reoffending was sufficiently handled I’d say. 👍🏻👍🏻 for the townspeople.
@@rcdogmanduh4440 No. It's a pro death penalty argument as well. It is definitely a deterrent, most people don't want to die. Consequences are both punishment and deterrence.
There was a similar vigilante lynching here in Indiana in the 19th century. Although, the criminals being lynched in the Indiana case kinda made these guys look like "sweethearts" by comparison! This was the infamous Reno gang. I'd highly recommend that you do a video about them if you haven't already!
My parents were both San Jose natives and very young at the time of the lynchings, 13 years old. They always said the citizens of San Jose were ashamed the next day, for many years it was taboo to talk about the hangings. The ropes disappeared quickly and the hanging trees were torn down within a few days.
New subscriber here. A terribly sad situation for all, but especially for the innocent young man and his family. All I can say is no one had to worry that those two criminals would ever get out of prison to harm anyone else!
@@walterrudich2175they put some ice on their knots or wear a cast for a couple months then move on. someone shouldn't become someone that works in law enforcement if they're worried about getting hurt
@ michael griffin Gandhi showed his ignorance of the Bible and did no good using that Scripture out of context. An eye for an eye is not referring to revenge. It is part of the Torah’s criminal justice code meaning that the punishment should be equal to the crime. No cutting off hands for stealing an apple. But being lynched for murder? Now that’s justice.
Well I can't help but feel that those two men got what they deserved, I mean they didn't even really just kidnap him and hold him for ransom, like usual, instead they just killed him right away and then called for ransom, to me that's sicker then anything else! And hearing that the young man was a good person, makes me feel even more like they deserved it! And those men begging for their lives, just had me thinking, how much did Brooke Hart beg for his life, before they killed him? Sure knowing how people still are in this country, getting together to wreak havoc for the wrong thing, it's hard to not have some mixed feelings about the crowd lynching these two, especially with people do that to innocent black folks back then too! But they still got it right here, I have a feeling they might have somehow got off or got a lesser sentence then they deserved!
Most lynching in the US were not for nothing . It was usually when crime accurred there was a mob reaction like in this case. Most victims were whites of lynching like this and happened when the law couldn't protect them from the mob or the posy caught them first.
Thank you so much for this story! As a Senior Citizen and 4th generation Californian, I was gobsmacked that this happened and I've never even heard it alluded to. Of course, I never knew the US interned Japanese Americans during WWII--and I grew up 30 miles from where there had been a camp AND had a best friend growing up who was Japanese and no one ever mentioned that her father had been in a camp.
Point taken. Looking back on my public education at the hands of U46 I am stunned at how white washed my education was, how smug retiring teachers can be about their careers of delivering curriculum instead of truth. Imagine our more embracing universal understanding of our world had we been raised with truth‼️‼️‼️💁🏼♀️
I have lived in San Jose my entire life and have walked along the streets where the store and old police station stood multiple times. Thank you so much for the attention to detail and for reopening my eyes to this very dark time in my cities history!
I think that the unwarranted cruelty of the kidnappers was the triggering factor, especially since the young man seemed to be of humble and sincere disposition. Had they stuck to kidnapping only it would have been different story.
I discovered this channel a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t stopped watching since. I just love your voice and how you narrate. Looking forward to the next video.
This all happened in the town I live in now. The illustrious Hart family literally only has a dog park named after them now, and St. James Park is a haven for bums. The hanging tree was cut down not long after the hanging so it's not even still there.
Generally I’d be opposed to revenge killings, mob violence, vigilantism...but at some point there comes a situation so hideous that you cannot stop or blame a violent response from people. If there had been trust that the two kidnapper/killers would get justice including execution, the lynching probably wouldn’t have gone on. Blame it a bit on the lawyers who looked like they were going to get these killers off.
The promise of the modern, professional justice system is that it will more efficiently and fairly find and punish the guilty. Instead of vigilantism and mob justice, you have police who investigates crimes and arrest suspects, lawyers who see that defendants are given fair trial, judges who sentence the convicted to appropriate punishment, and prisons that will enforce those sentences. As long as the system works, vigilantism and mobs are kept at bay. When the system starts to not work, societal pressures begin to arise. While lynchings are extinct, you see other responses. One is the call by voters on politicians to enact ever more strict and punishing laws, from the 1994 Crime Bill to the War on Drugs. Another sign of societal anger is represented in entertainment, replacing actual mob violence with digital vigilantism. During the big crime wave of the 1970s, popular movie franchises like Dirty Harry, Death Wish, etc, came out. They had the basic premise that crime was out of control, the system wasn't working, and what was needed were tough men ready and able to skirt or ignore the law and dole out street justice to deserving criminals. My guess is that if the current crime wave continues and grows, we'll see an increase in those kinds of movies and TV shows again.
I feel terrible for the Hart family and their beautiful son who never had a chance to live out his life. 😔 I dont care about what happened to his murderers. They stole a life of a kind, talented, loved, young man. I'm sure his family were haunted whole rest of their lives.
Police need to form cadres of "black op" cells which deliver murderers to the victims' families' door steps. What the families do to the perpetrators is none of my concern. Oh, but we're a civilized society, blah blah blah. Screw civility. The murderers made their choice, now it's OUR choice and we're free NOT TO choose civility.
Sometimes, I wish we still had this sort of justice , especially when sex offenders often get off so easy in courts after damaging their victims for life. I don't think we should pay for life sentences of horrible people, privatized prisons rape the states for ungodly fees if not enough prisoners are sent in. The justice system is beyond corrupt and ridiculous.
@@mimib8032 Innocent people are also convicted by courts so the system can be flawed. However , those convicted and backed by DNA evidence sit on death row for years and decades while taxpayers foot the bill while endless retrials occur.
I think the punishment fitted the evilness and the brutally of their crime. No mercy and overwhelming support of the victim and his family was heart-warming.
So murder is heart warming. How nice. This wasn't punishment. Punishment would have been if the 2 accused (innocent until proven guilty) had their day in court. The evidence was overwhelming and a conviction thru due process was virtually assured, so the death penalty would have occurred at a later time anyway, especially in 1933. The difference is that the system rules and laws would have been observed. Mobs are dangerous and the reason we don't allow vigilantism is that mobs are also very stupid and often grab the wrong person. Plus the constitution guarantees fair treatment of those accused of crimes. Watch the movie, "The Oxbow Incident". It shows what happens when you have mob rule.
@@gregh7400 they showed no mercy to Brooke Hart. The community came out and dealt with them, didn't hear Brooke's mum and dad complaining about the injustice of the killing of their sons murderers.
@Tony Richardson I see you didn't understand what I posted. Too bad. All the people who participated in this lynching are guilty of murder and are as despicable as those who murdered Hart. As for the guys arrested , we'll never know if they were guilty or not since there was no trial.
I have often thought that bringing back hanging as the death penalty might curb the amount of murders taking place. However, the judicial system has become so soft on crime, many states have abolished the death penalty, giving murderers a free ride through life, many paroled ti commit other killings. They no longer fear the death penalty.
The death penalty results in years and years of appeals, costing the state taxpayers millions, giving the perpetrator great notoriety, and forcing the victim's loved ones to relive their grief over and over in the papers and on TV. Life without parole is much less expensive in terms of both money and grief.
@@purplelove3666 You'd think keeping someone in prison for life, food and clothes and medical care and all, would be the most expensive option. But a death penalty case requires two trials, one to determine guilt or innocence, and if guilty, a second trial, usually with a new set of lawyers, to determine whether to impose the death penalty or something less. If the accused is given death, then starts round after round of appeals. Typically someone can be on death row twenty years or more, with various appeals and further investigations ongoing. The state is required to provide legal representation for people with no money, no matter how many retrials, appeals, etc., it takes. Twenty years of mac and cheese and mystery meat is a whole lot cheaper than twenty years of attorneys.
Yes and we all agree to suppress him in order to live in a civilized society. However, those who chose to ignore the rules (what some call the social contract), then they don't deserve kindness. In fact, they should be removed from the society so as to not poison in with their wickedness. The criminals should fear the law abiding citizens, not the other way around.
Why would they regret their actions? The suspects were not just guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but guilty without a single doubt. I despise the mob mentality in any form. But the murderers got what they had coming to them.
@@aimee2234 look at the McMurders and Roddy. The new lynching if Georgia. Only remorse they had was when they realized their @$$e$ were getting state prison
The boy was killed for no reason. The two kidnappers were lynched because they murdered. Karma has a habit of catching up to you. It's why I try to help as many people as possible, especially those with nothing, begging on the street, helping those in most need. Not every one gets a perfect life, or a perfect start, but it doesn't mean you have to repeat those actions or events, and helping someone to get out of those circumstances is a reward you can be proud of.
Thank you. This is a story I had never heard of before. Love your voice and presence. So knowledgeable and calm while detailing the actions of the lynch mob.
On the one hand, they took two cold-blooded murderers off the street. On the other hand... Here in Ontario, where someone who commits first-degree murder can be out killing again in 12 years, I can understand the public's need to take the law into their own hands. If someone murdered someone I loved, I would have no problem killing them, and then turning myself in to the authorities. I would likely become a folk hero, and would be out in about twelve years.
Thank you for covering this tragedy. My heart went out to Mr. Brooke Hart for his torture and murder at the hands of his kidnapper-assassins. Mob justice/lynching is a horrible phenomenon which of course has historical precedence in the United States. I do not condone such madness. Too many innocents have been lynched in our history. We have a justice system, albeit not perfect. But I shall say this, Harold Thurmond and John Holmes were guilty and evil.
@@proudarmedreadytobugaloode6295 Instead of accusing me of "hating America"", perhaps you should read some history books detailing our country's history. As a country, our history denotes a number of things which demand judgement by moral people. Otherwise, they will be repeated. You must be under the impression that I am not American, or perhaps not European-American. You are dead wrong, sir. Open your eyes to truth.
I've only come across your channel quite by chance but have happily subscribed - always appreciate an interesting and well told story. Thanks, keep it up!☺️
Thank you for posting this. I read about this years and years ago. I am not half way thru the video and you have provided so many images I haven't gotten to see. The press reports and all the descriptions of events are still vivid in my mind. You presented a greatly researched piece, thank you again!
I'm just reading the nonfictional story of this event about The Hart Family. What a coincidence. Loved the photos. Your presentations, again, are wonderful.
I have such complicated feelings about this. On one hand those men committed a senseless and brutal murder, and I don't feel sorry for them that they were killed for it. But on the other hand I do feel that lynching is always wrong and nothing good has ever come from an angry mob.
@Kara K not the mcmurders or Roddy.... or Chauvin..... they also got the no bond reduction for the Crumbly's.... times are changing But I do agree. The loser magat out on attempted murder charges who was at Jan 6th out on bond was ridiculous.
I find the Well I Never one of my favorite channels I’m subscribed to. You have the most interesting stories of history and I think you are a wonderful narrator the best on RU-vid. I look forward every week to a new episode. Thank you for the great channel and I will keep watching. Sincerely an American fan from across the pond.
I found it interesting that Holmes' father had $10,000 to hire a lawyer. That was a great deal of money in those days. The father seemed very well-to-do, yet apparently not enough for his greedy offspring.
I didn't realize that Holmes family were well off cause he worked for an oil company as a traveling salesman. Thurmond, who was believed to have been somewhat mentally challenged, was a gas station attendant and the two met and became friends in the course of their jobs.
@@gregh7400justice? Maybe not for you. You're what I call "perspectively challenged". You only understand yourself. Congratulations. This means you are severely lacking however in the knowledge and mindset of others. It's not impossible to know that a good number of people would want 'justice' because to them its 'justice'. I understand this because I understand people period.
This was an interesting story. I feel bad for the young man that died for nothing. Oddly enough I can’t seem to form an opinion on the mob’s reactions. I understand it.
The intent of a Court of law is to be an alternative to lynching which is the default when the government will not take responsibility. The public did this because they had lost faith in the government to deliver justice, there had been high profile cases where people had inexplicably not been punished for heinous crimes based on naive loopholes in the law that the government refused to close.
As I watched the video I couldn't help but cheer the mob on, despite being of a liberal disposition. I'm sure that the press stories regarding insanity pleas helped galvanise the mob to ensure that they were hanged. It was an especially despicable crime given that poor Hart was murdered before a ransom was even placed.
The thing is. They deserved what happened to them. But the problem is, what if they had been innocent? A mob is unfortunately not the answer, as tempting as it is.
You gave an excellent presentation. Then as today, justice is fleeting in our country. The people at large knew it then, as they do now. Those two subhumans probably would have walked away with light sentences. Today, murders aren't even charged in most cases. All judges are simply glorified attorneys. Attorneys write the laws and many become politicians. Our country is being flooded with crime. I'm 70 and watched our country be turned into a toilet because of attorneys. Today it's actually a cesspool of corruption because of attorneys. So to answer your question, those two murdering basturds got what they deserved and then hell took over the punishment! And all attorneys will join them there!
I just watched this, a year after you uploaded it, and am disgusted at the behavior of those who decided to take the law into their own hands. What the 2 men did was despicable and they deserved to be convicted and likely would have been. Yet a small group of individuals decided they were above the law and the legal system which serves a purpose. That legal system is faulty. However, the process is there for a reason and works more than it fails. The public deciding to take the law into their own hands to be judge, jury, and executioner is disgraceful, never warranted, and puts them on the same level as those who (if guilty) they've murdered....bc that is exactly what it was/is...murder. I don't know of anything good that has ever come from a mob mentality.
Thank you Paul for educating me about this story. I had never heard about it. I have recently subscribed to "Well, I Never." I find it very interesting.
While stringing 2 men up in a park for everyone to see is quite messed up, so is killing a young man, then contacting his family for ransom even though their son is already dead. And eye for an eye, as it should be. Some people these days deserve worse than a jail cell for life, were they eat 2-3 meals a day. The expression “death is too good for them” doesn’t apply when you’re going straight to hell.
The court system is so crooked, they never do justice for the victims or, their families! An eye for an eye! The story was only deeply sorrowful for the young man and the suffering he had to endure. RIP young man🥺💔⚘💋
It's definitely quite a contrast from living in prison on death row for 50 to 60 years. I imagine that many victims families would approve of this type of Justice.
