Simply unbelievable! This book is based on court transcribed events and if it had not been for that simple fact, the atrocities found within the pages of Lay This Body Down would be incomprehensible. This fact based accounting of the 1921 murders of 11 plantation slaves in Newton and Jasper Counties, Georgia is horrific but sadly true. Yes you read correctly, the year is 1921, not during the officially recognized time of slavery. Slavery was legally over but a new system was rearing its head in the south - peonage. Peonage was a practice given prominence by southern plantation owners to employ workers (read enslave) for cheap or at no cost. If a Negro owed a debt and was unable to pay the debt he would be thrown in prison. With little to no hope of paying his fine -sometimes in amounts as low as a few dollars- he would sit in prison until... Wealthy landowners would visit the prisons and pay these menial fines and the person would be released to this landowner to repay the debt. It could and often did take a lifetime for this person to pay of the debt so they would be Peon's or Slaves to this person. Such is the case of the people found on the John S. Williams Plantation. Mr. Williams and his wife and 12 children occupied land in Newton County, Covington, Georgia. His older boys had plots of adjacent land and too employed peons. The Federal Bureau of Investigation from the Atlanta office had been called in to look at cases of Peonage - which was illegal, and their investigation lead to the Williams Plantation. Mr. Williams not being immediately present on the day the FBI came to call, found these revenuers interviewing his hired hand and overseer, a Negro named Clyde Manning. Understandably nervous and frightened Mr. Manning answered questions posed to him truthfully but they conflicted with Mr. Williams accounting. Now it was Mr. Williams' turn to become nervous and his remedy was to murder those Negroes who posed a threat to his families way of life. A cunning man, Mr. Williams had Mr. Manning conduct the murders. In an unprecedented decision, Mr. Williams was found guilty of murder based on the testimony of a black man and from 1921 to 1966 this did not happen again in a Georgia Court Room. Mr. Manning was also found guilty but both men were spared the death penalty.

These shocking and horrific crimes were well documented by the author, Gregory A. Freeman. He did a wonderful job of backing up this true tale with documented facts, figures and pictures. It's sad that this story had to be told but it illustrates that the south wasn't used to the idea, some 56 years after slavery- that all men are created equal. It is sad that Mr. Manning felt the need to comply with Mr. Williams wishes to kill his own people for fear of his own life and that of his family. Sadly not a lot of Georgians know about this case and I'm trying to determine if it is because this is just one of many cases and in the telling of family history this was commonplace. Read this book not to anger yourself but to get a greater understanding of the true side of history.

This book is one of the most involving reads I ever had, more so cause this is based on concrete facts and the author clearly gives the sources, mentions that the statements are either quoted in toto from courtroom notes or from the newspapers. The author must be applauded for writing on such a sensitive topic and not trying to sensasionalize one side of the argument or the other.

I wouldn't recommend it as light reading, this should be read with a view to understand what went on in the southern states before and/or after the great emancipation. It was tremendously helpful to me to understand the varying treatment of the slaves in different plantations, frankly I was confused before by the contradictory treatment of this topic in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and 'Gone with the wind'

LAY THIS BODY DOWN was a small portrait of the double standards that existed among those who owned slaves. Such a "family man" as John Williams could inspire fear, hatred, and murder in his slaves and his sons. He was even a murderer himself. Yet, he could be kind to his wife and daughter. I read the book, not because I enjoyed it, but because it is a reminder of the evils inherent in the abuse of other people and other races. If we are not reminded, it will be repeated. John Williams was evil incarnate.

I felt the fear coming out in Freeman's 'Lay This Body Down'. This true story gives you an idea of what blacks had to endure in the south before the civil rights movement began. It's a chilling account of how 11 plantation slaves were brutally murdered by the hand of one of their own and the white plantation owner. It confirms through the fact of peonage-slave labor, and brutal punishment, just how unjust the south was in the early part of the 20th century. There are gruesome details that left me a bit uneasy, but....justice does prevail. As unsettling as this true story may be, it is a subject that should be recognized and remembered.

After reading the other reviews of "Lay This Body Down : The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves", I noticed not one mentioned the Notes at the end. I found Freeman's extensive documention one of the most important aspects of the book. Finally, the author of a "true story" backs up his facts with references! In addition to providing sources, many of the Notes introduce relevant information not included in the body of the book.

I highly recommend "Lay This Body Down..." to anyone interested in "true crime", southern history, or just a good read. And don't forget the Notes!