Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Guilty Parties
Guilty Parties
Guilty Parties
Ebook207 pages2 hours

Guilty Parties

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The last lynching in the state of California occurred as Prohibition was about to end and the Great Depression was at its zenith. San Jose, California was a sleepy prune town far from the bright lights of San Francisco only forty miles away. Brooke Hart was the son of one of the richest men in what would become Silicon Valley. He was the opportunity and victim of two desperate men imitating kidnapping attempts which seemed to grip the nation in those hard times.
Jack Holmes and Harold Thurman were an unlikely pair to actually complete a kidnapping and negotiate the ransom. They were easily caught, but the story doesn’t end here. The good citizens of San Jose took out their vengeance on the pair by breaking into the County Jail and lynching both men in St. James Park in downtown San Jose. The police arguably looked the other way. Police forces from around the Bay Area failed to respond when asked to quell the turmoil erupting in the park just hours before Thurman and Holmes were stripped naked and hanged near the statue of William McKinley.
When asked about the incident Governor Sonny Jim Rolf said, “It might be a good idea to have all criminals in the state moved to San Jose.”
No one was ever held responsible for the lynching of the men even though photos of the hangmen were readily available. As late as 1978 all public photos pertaining to the kidnapping were doctored to hide faces in the crowd. Guilty Parties is a novel based on these events.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherIzzo Mangelli
Release dateJul 13, 2011
ISBN9781466182103
Guilty Parties
Author

Izzo Mangelli

Joseph Izzo was a feature writer for the San Jose Mercury News for over 10 years. He is the author of 7 Guides to the San Francisco Bay area. Mr. Izzo has written screenplays for film and a Series for PBS television. Joseph Mangelli is the author of 5 Guides to the san Francisco Bay area. He has written screenplays for film and also co-wrote a Series for PBS television.

Related to Guilty Parties

Related ebooks

Historical Mystery For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Guilty Parties

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Guilty Parties - Izzo Mangelli

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1