'A Second Reckoning: Race, Injustice and the Last Hanging in Annapolis' book review

pc: Cait Malilay

"A Second Reckoning: Race, Injustice and the Last Hanging in Annapolis" by Scott D. Seligman delves into the historical case of John Snowden, a Black man charged under circumstantial evidence for murdering a White woman named Lottie Mae Brandon in 1917. 

Seligman, an award-winning writer and a historian, walks readers through the case and the historical time period of Maryland's capitol, focusing specifically on race relations, while occasionally touching on gender norms and laws that restricted women from participating in government.

Seligman presents the book in such a way where he's not setting out to prove whether Snowden was guilty or innocent, but rather simply stating the facts.

There are many characters that help push forward the investigation, which made national headlines, one of them being Mary Grace Winterton Quackenbos Humiston.

Humiston was a detective from New York who was hired by The Washington Times to solve the case. 

She came from a progressive family and went to New York University for law school, the only academic institution that would allow women to enroll. 

Integrity and controlling the narrative 

Seligman paints each individual character with objectivity, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses.

Even a powerful and admirable character like Humiston comes with its flaws.

Sometimes she would let her personal bias impact her work. 

"She had a right to boast about the new evidence uncovered as a result of the second autopsy, but she made no mention of the fact that she had previously dismissed the possibility that the killer had been Black as highly unlikely, or that she had favored the theory that the murder had been the work of a woman," (Seligman 66).

Humiston insisted on the disinterment of Brandon's body, which led to a discovery of new evidence, and she couldn't help but brag about it, failing to admit where she stood wrong.

One of the silliest theories that she developed was the overgeneralization that men choke women with one hand, whereas women use two hands. 

The autopsy revealed that Brandon was choked with both, which made her initially conclude that the murderer was a woman, and skin found underneath Brandon's fingernails revealed that the assailant was African American.

The police also had their weaknesses. 

They did everything in their power to get him to confess, even if that meant a false confession. 

Snowden testified that they abused him during his long interrogation, one of them even pointing a gun to his head.

The police, of course, denied this, and despite the defense's many attempts to have everything that Snowden said during the interrogation thrown out of the trial, the judge refused to listen. 

Unfortunately, the reality is that coercive tactics are still methods used today by those who abuse their power. 

When the police department would talk to the press, they never admitted their mistakes during the investigation. 

However, Seligman doesn't seek to paint Snowden as an angel either.

He points out his flaws just as he does with the other characters, and for Snowden, that was drinking and gambling. 

Although there are two key witnesses that stated that they saw him leaving the Brandon residence, there's another witness who stated that they saw Lottie and her husband, Valentine Brandon, having an argument.

There were also rumors and theories going around of the possibility that she had another lover. 

Government officials who were involved in the investigation did receive several anonymous letters stating that they were the killer.

Up to his death, Snowden claimed that he didn't do it.

He was pardoned by the governor of Maryland in 2001 and this case is an integral symbol for many Annapolitans today, but the question remains, who killed Lottie Mae Brandon?

I highly recommend this book for those interested in crime, law, civil rights and historical non-fiction. 

For more book recommendations, follow @cait_malilay_reads.

Those interested in staying up to date on future articles can follow @cait_malilay_writes. 

Seligman, Scott D. A Second Reckoning: Race, Injustice, and the Last Hanging in Annapolis. Potomac Books, an Imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2021.

How those in power behind the case only say to the press what makes them look good - relationship between the reality and what audience thinks

Controlling the narrative

setting the stage with photos, race relationship between blacks and whites

The cold reality is that our criminal justice system has a lot of work to do