# Julius Morgan

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**Julius Morgan** (c. 1894 – July 13, 1916) was an American criminal who was the first prisoner executed by the [electric chair](/source/Electric_chair) in [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee), after being convicted for the rape of a twenty-year-old woman. He claimed to have served one year in an [Arkansas](/source/Arkansas) prison for assault before escaping to Tennessee. Morgan unsuccessfully sought clemency from the [Tennessee Supreme Court](/source/Tennessee_Supreme_Court) and Governor [Thomas Clarke Rye](/source/Thomas_Clarke_Rye) before admitting his guilt at his execution.

## Background

Julius Morgan claimed to be twenty-two years old in 1916, and came to [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee) from [Arkansas](/source/Arkansas).[1] Morgan stated that he had been convicted for the assault of a woman after entering her home in Arkansas in 1913, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison. He escaped from prison one year into his sentence, but was recaptured before escaping again and moving to Tennessee.[2]

Morgan was working with his brother-in-law and uncle at a farm in [Dyer County](/source/Dyer_County,_Tennessee).[3][4] Morgan was accused of criminally assaulting Laura Sullivan on February 1, 1916, near [Dyersburg, Tennessee](/source/Dyersburg,_Tennessee).[5] The crime occurred when Sullivan, described in news reports as a twenty-year-old white woman who was selling "toilet articles", came to a house where Morgan was working. Morgan pursued the woman and assaulted her in the street. He was captured about twelve hours later in [Maury City](/source/Maury_City,_Tennessee). The sheriff of Dyer County moved Morgan to [Jackson](/source/Jackson,_Tennessee) to protect him from a mob of vigilantes who planned to lynch him.[4][6]

## Trial and petitions for clemency

Morgan appeared in court with three lawyers and was granted a change of venue to [Memphis](/source/Memphis,_Tennessee).[7][8] On March 27, 1916, Morgan was being held in the Memphis jail. The Shelby County sheriff, one Reichman, ordered guards to protect Morgan from lynch mobs.[9] He was convicted of the crime of rape on April 3, and a motion for a new trial was denied.[3][10][4]

The [Tennessee General Assembly](/source/Tennessee_General_Assembly) passed legislation on September 27, 1913, making the [electric chair](/source/Electric_chair) the official method of execution in the state and required all executions to be held in [Nashville](/source/Nashville,_Tennessee). The legislation was signed into law by Governor [Ben W. Hooper](/source/Ben_W._Hooper).[11]

By June 1916 the [Tennessee Supreme Court](/source/Tennessee_Supreme_Court) had affirmed the decision to execute Morgan.[12] After the Supreme Court refused to overturn the death penalty, Morgan attempted to gain clemency from the governor.[7] These attempts culminated in a visit by Governor [Thomas Clarke Rye](/source/Thomas_Clarke_Rye) on July 10, 1916. Morgan talked to Rye about his crime, but Rye made no promise to grant clemency.[1] Several people had asked the governor to grant clemency, including the Nashville "Colored Men's Branch" of the YMCA, to no avail.[4]

## Execution

Morgan was singing songs with religious leaders before being moved to the penitentiary to await execution. At 5:00 pm on July 12, 1916, he was led to an automobile for transport while hundreds of people gathered to see him transported.[3][13]

On July 13, 1916, Morgan had a last meal of watermelon at the penitentiary. Morgan's head was then shaved and he was strapped into the electric chair at 4:38 am. At 4:41 am a guard flipped the switch and sent the electricity to the chair. The first jolt of electricity did not kill Morgan and the electricity was sent to the chair a second time. Morgan was pronounced dead by a doctor at 4:45 am.[14]

Morgan admitted his guilt before his execution.[3] "I was good once. Then I went to drinking bootleg whisky and when the showdown come—it got me."[3][N 1]

His body was delivered to his mother in Arkansas.[7] Since his execution there have been 130 prisoners put to death using the electric chair in Tennessee.[15][16]

In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penal­ty for the rape of an adult was unconstitutional in [Coker v. Georgia](/source/Coker_v._Georgia).[17]

## See also

- [Capital punishment in Tennessee](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Tennessee)
- [List of people executed in the United States in 1916](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_the_United_States_in_1916)
- [List of people executed by electrocution](/source/List_of_people_executed_by_electrocution)

## Notes

1. He gave a statement to the YMCA prior to his death: "I got in the habit of taking a drink of whisky in the mornings when it was cold and frosty, and the habit grew upon me. The next thing to whisky, that led to my ruin, was bad women. I would advise young men to stay away from the red light district. Bad women, like bad whisky, will lead young men and old men alike to destruction. . . . My father was a sinner and a gambler. He was shot down without a moments notice. He is today in hell where every body ought to pray to shun. Boys who are invited to church ought to take heed."[4]

## References

1. ["Governor Visits Condemned Negro"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523521/nashville-banner/). *[Nashville Banner](/source/Nashville_Banner)*. July 10, 1916. p. 1. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231135734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523521/nashville-banner/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Confesses to Another Crime"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523940/the-tennessean/). *[Nashville Banner](/source/Nashville_Banner)*. July 14, 1916. p. 12. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231140916/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523940/the-tennessean/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Pays With His Life for Crime Committed in Dyer County. No Fear of Death."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12512494/the-tennessean/). *[Nashville Banner](/source/Nashville_Banner)*. July 13, 1916. p. 9. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231140347/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12512494/the-tennessean/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 20, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Vandiver, Margaret (2006). [*Lethal punishment : lynchings and legal executions in the South*](https://books.google.com/books?id=xpnRipS4ZA8C&dq=Julius+Morgan+negro&pg=PA44). New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0813537290. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220226152303/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lethal_Punishment/xpnRipS4ZA8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Julius+Morgan+negro&pg=PA44&printsec=frontcover) February 26, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. ["Julius Morgan's Electrocution Set For July 13"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523398/the-tennessean/). *[The Tennessean](/source/The_Tennessean)*. June 4, 1916. p. 14. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231135349/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523398/the-tennessean/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Negro Is Trailed"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91522979/the-dickson-herald/). *The Dickson Herald*. February 11, 1916. p. 3. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231134110/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91522979/the-dickson-herald/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Bohm, Robert M. & Lee, Gavin (2017). [*Routledge handbook on capital punishment*](https://books.google.com/books?id=fTZDDwAAQBAJ&dq=Julius+Morgan+negro&pg=PT96). 1st ed. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1138651579. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220226152234/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Routledge_Handbook_on_Capital_Punishment/fTZDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Julius+Morgan+negro&pg=PT96&printsec=frontcover) February 26, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. ["Negro Secures Change of Venue"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523066/the-chattanooga-news/). *The Chattanooga News*. February 29, 1916. p. 3. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231134358/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523066/the-chattanooga-news/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Guard Around Memphis Jail"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523224/the-leaf-chronicle/). *[The Leaf-Chronicle](/source/The_Leaf-Chronicle)*. March 29, 1916. p. 6. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231134846/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523224/the-leaf-chronicle/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Brought Here To Electric Chair"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523307/nashville-banner/). *[Nashville Banner](/source/Nashville_Banner)*. April 3, 1916. p. 9. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231135104/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91523307/nashville-banner/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Hale, Steven (July 7, 2016). ["The Chair: 100 Years After Its First Use, Tennessee's Electric Chair Remains the State's Most Prolific Killer"](https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/the-chair-100-years-after-its-first-use-tennessees-electric-chair-remains-the-states-most/article_d8d142f8-5cdb-5fdd-ab6e-6e237399aaf2.html). *[Nashville Scene](/source/Nashville_Scene)*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231132711/https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/the-chair-100-years-after-its-first-use-tennessees-electric-chair-remains-the-states-most/article_d8d142f8-5cdb-5fdd-ab6e-6e237399aaf2.html) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021.

1. ["Opinions of the Supreme Court"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90877905/morgan-execution-supreme-court/). *[Nashville Banner](/source/Nashville_Banner)*. June 5, 1916. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211220184856/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90877905/morgan-execution-supreme-court/) December 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. ["Posse After Assailant of Young Girl"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91522849/the-tennessean/). *[The Tennessean](/source/The_Tennessean)*. February 3, 1916. p. 1. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231133829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91522849/the-tennessean/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. Travis, Fred (January 5, 1958). ["Crusade Against Death"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90876175/morgan/). *Chattanooga Daily Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211220184856/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90876175/morgan/) December 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. ["Tennessee Executions"](https://www.tn.gov/correction/about-us/executions.html). *[Tennessee Department of Correction](/source/Tennessee_Department_of_Correction)*. Retrieved December 26, 2025.

1. Dorman, Travis; Allison, Natalie; Tamburin, Adam (February 20, 2020). ["Tennessee execution: Nicholas Todd Sutton executed by electric chair"](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2020/02/20/nicholas-todd-sutton-execution-tennessee-electric-chair/4806710002/). *[The Tennessean](/source/The_Tennessean)*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211231143319/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2020/02/20/nicholas-todd-sutton-execution-tennessee-electric-chair/4806710002/) December 31, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2021.

1. ["Death Penalty for Offenses Other Than Murder"](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/background/crimes-punishable-by-death/death-penalty-for-offenses-other-than-murder). *Death Penalty Information Center*. Retrieved 2026-05-04.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Julius Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Morgan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Morgan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.