Republican Representative Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta), of Tennessee, has apologized for his request to add lynching to state death penalty statutes — but that hasn’t stopped social media users from reacting to his comments.
Sherrell made the suggestion during a Criminal Justice Committee meeting on February 28 in Nashville where lawmakers discussed HB1245 — and an amendment to the state’s capital punishment bill that would permit death by firing squad as an execution. “I was just wondering, could I put an amendment on that, that would include hanging by a tree, also,” Sherrell asked. In addition to proposing the amendment to the bill, Sherrell went on to offer his signature on it as a co-sponsor. Lynching, which is synonymous with slavery and racist Jim Crow South legislation that enforced segregation during the 19th and 20th centuries, is described as “an extrajudicial killing by a group,” in which an individual was hanged to death from a tree. Tennessee has a tragically extensive history of hangings and lynchings, as the Department of Correction used hanging as its primary method of execution until 1913. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, there are 236 documented lynchings reportedly on record between 1877 and 1950, and there are likely more unreported cases to have occurred.
Sherrell’s request was met with immediate accusations of bigotry and racism. Well-known attorney and Civil Rights activist Ben Crump described Sherrell’s proposal as “grotesque,” in a scathing tweet calling attention to the incident.
“This is UNREAL! Republican Rep. Paul Sherrell proposed Tennessee amend their death penalty to include HANGING by tree during a House Criminal Justice Committee meeting! How in 2023 can a government official have such a grotesque suggestion leave his mouth?! 🎥: @thetnholler,” Crump wrote in the Tweet.
In a video clip tweeted by The TN Holler, Sherrell appeared to laugh in the face of a man who asked him “how racist,” he was on a scale from one to ten. “You know lynching’s a hate crime now, right?,” the man filming the video asked Sherrell. “You want to bring back lynching people? How racist are you exactly, Paul?”
The man recording the video continued, adding, “You want to bring back stringing people up to trees Paul? Is that what you really want?” Sherrell appeared to laugh in the man’s face before walking off without saying a word.
A user by the name of Anthony Beckford called Sherrell “vile filth,” in regard to his lynching bill proposal.
“This filth, Republican Rep. Paul Sherrell proposed that Tennessee amend their death penalty to include HANGING by tree during a House Criminal Justice Committee meeting! You know who he wants to see in those trees. These are the vile filth being voted in throughout America,” Anthony wrote in a tweet.
Another user whose name is Ricky Davila described Sherrell’s proposal as a “blatant,” display of “White supremacy,” while also calling for the lawmaker to be expelled from his position.
“Another example of blatant white supremacy, a piece of shit Republican state representative in Tennessee named Paul Sherrell who wants to bring back hangings in trees. Lynching is a federal hate crime last I checked, so the mere mention of that should be met with expulsion,” Ricky tweeted.
A user whose name is Terrence Daniels alluded to the idea that Sherrell may be a member of the White supremacy group the Ku Klux Klan in a response he tweeted.
“Dude forgot his Klan hood in the car… fair enough cupcake, I move to add an amendment to bring back tar & feathering, the stockades, and public flogging as punishment for corrupt politicians. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander right? Rep. Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta)…” Terrence tweeted.
In a statement released by the House Republican caucus press secretary, Sherrell apologized for the proposal, alleging he used “very poor judgment,” during the incident.
“My exaggerated comments were intended to convey my belief that for the cruelest and most heinous crimes, a just society requires the death penalty in kind,” Sherrell said. “Although a victim’s family cannot be restored when an execution is carried out, a lesser punishment undermines the value we place on protecting life. I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been hurt or offended.”
President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law in May 2022, effectively making lynching a federal hate crime after over a century of rallying for the aforementioned legislation.
Scroll through additional tweets from enraged Twitter users below.