This text uncovers the still-hidden history of police torture in the Jim Crow South. Based on a wide array of previously neglected archival sources, Silvan Niedermeier argues that as public lynching decreased, less visible practices of racial subjugation and repression became central to southern white supremacy.

Translated from the German. Previously issued in print: 2019.

Police torture and "legal lynchings" in the American South -- Torture and African American courtroom testimony -- The NAACP campaign against "forced confessions" -- Selective public outrage: the Quintar South case -- The investigations by the federal government.