One month later, on August 14, unsuspecting readers of the
Illinois State Journal opened their eyes to a shocking headline
screaming, "DRAGGED FROM HER BED AND OUTRAGED BY NEGRO." The
readers were again faced with the story of a "heinous crime"
that had been committed the night before. Mabel Hallam, the
twenty-one year old wife of a respectable city street car
conductor, was allegedly snatched from her peaceful sleep and
sexually assaulted by a black fiend. The outraged Hallam
identified her attacker as George Richardson, a caretaker who
worked odd jobs in the her neighborhood. By Friday, August 14,
two blacks sat in jail, Joe James and George Richardson both
accused and assumed to have raped white women. The local
newspaper continued practicing "yellow journalism" stirring up
the people of Springfield against the black community.  Murder
of Clergy Ballard Dragged and Outraged Crowd Forms Violence
Begins Local Authorities Overwhelmed Levee Destroyed Mob Claims
First Victim Black Residential Area Destroyed Sat