J. Riley Dungee; Houston Informer, April 14, 1931

With rumors of revolting crime,
The public is enraged;
And in its retribution is
Indignantly engaged.

The despicable criminal
Conceived his guilt and hid it
Behind the sordid sentiment,
“Of course, a Negro did it.”

Accordingly, official with
this theory invested,
Accommodate the culprit,
And a Negro is arrested.

In vain he pleads his alibi,
And every fair defense,
His captors destine him to die
On his own evidence.

They terrify and torture him
In barbarous duress,
Until with threats and promises,
They force him to confess.

Confirmatory witness
With data pre-supplied,
Confront him, and the victim is
Forthwith identified.

The only thing to settle now
Is how to murder him–
To execute him with the law
Or bluntly butcher him.

thus many a Negro goes untried,
His innocence unheard,
Thus many a guiltless Negro died
On a wanton woman’s word.

but what about the perjurers
Who swore their lives away?
Have they, these upper-murderers,
No penalty to pay?

Oh, yes! this genial gentry shall
One doleful day awake,
Among their kindred souls upon
The bed of Liars’ Lake.