Virginia
Three Black men were lynched. A rural Virginia county has cleared their names.

Zann Nelson worked almost 20 years to shed light on three lynchings more than a century ago in Culpeper, Virginia. A judge just deemed the men innocent.

December 20, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EST Yesterday at 8:00 a.m. EST
10 min


From left, Virginia State Bar President Michael York, researcher Zann Nelson, Commonwealth’s Attorney Russell L. Rabb III and Circuit Judge Dale B. Durrer pose for a photo after a Dec. 16 hearing in the Culpeper County courthouse. (Gregory S. Schneider/The Washington Post)

By Gregory S. Schneider

CULPEPER, Va. — There is no way to atone for what happened to Charles Allie Thompson, William Thompson and William Grayson, Black men lynched in this rural county more than a century ago and then mostly erased from history.

But this week brought a measure of justice.
In a Reconstruction-era courtroom, Circuit Judge Dale B. Durrer granted a request from prosecutor Russell L. Rabb III to find that all three men “were and remain to this day innocent of their charges” because they were denied due process. The ruling mandates that documents about their horrific treatment at the hands of vigilante mobs remain unsealed in the Circuit Court’s records for future generations to see.

“The best history helps us recognize the mistakes that we’ve made and the evil corners in which humanity can dwell,” Durrer said in issuing his ruling. “This discomfort causes us to learn and grow and harness the great collective power we have as a community.”

Family members of Allie Thompson, who was lynched in 1918 after a White woman accused him of rape, joined about 50 local residents who burst into applause during the unusual court session Monday afternoon. The ruling brought a sense of peace to Otis Jordan Jr., 68, of Bealeton, Virginia, who traces his ancestry to Allie Thompson’s father. … “It was a long time coming, but justice is done. It took, what, 106 years?” Jordan said. “You’re always going to feel anger about it, that ain’t never going to change. But being that the community is acknowledging it, I appreciate that.”


Otis Jordan Jr., 68, of Bealeton, Virginia, traces his ancestry back to one of the lynched men. (Gregory S. Schneider/The Washington Post)

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By Gregory S. Schneider
Greg Schneider covers Virginia from the Richmond bureau. He was The Washington Post's business editor for more than seven years, and before that served stints as deputy business editor, national security editor and technology editor. He has also covered aviation security, the auto industry and the defense industry for The Post.follow on X@SchneiderG