Ex-Klansman executed in Alabama for 1981 slaying of black teen

Jet, June 23, 1997

The execution of a former Ku Klux Klansman in Alabama for the 1981 brutal murder of a Black teen marked the first time a White has been executed for killing a Black in the state in 84 years.

Henry Francis Hays, 42, received a death sentence for the lynching-style murder of Michael Donald, a 19-year-old who was beaten, slashed and strangled with a rope after he was abducted at random from a street in Mobile. His body was strung up in a tree by the curb.

Before dying, a frightened Hays said "I love you" to his brother, Ray, and the victim's brother, Stanley, who later called Hays "a nut" and said the execution brought him no satisfaction.

Prosecutors said the killing was ordered by Klan leaders, including Hays' father, "to show Klan strength in Alabama' after a jury. deadlocked in the trial of a Black man charged with killing a White policeman.

James "Tiger" Knowles testified that he and Hays picked Donald up at random on the night of March 20, 1981. He described the beating and killing and was sentenced to life in prison for his testimony.

Hays' father, Bennie Jack Hays, was charged in the murder but died before his trial.

Hays maintained his innocence until days before his death when he confessed to Rev. Bob Smith, president of Mobile's NAACP.

Smith, who witnessed the execution, mentioned the confession at Hays' funeral.

After encouraging the death row inmate to "take a bath in confession," Smith said a tearful Hays gave a 40-minute detailed account of Donald's abduction, beating and strangulation.

The case financially destroyed the Klan.

The Klan faction was hit with a $7 million wrongful-death verdict brought by Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald.

Because it had nowhere near $7 million in assets, the 10an faction filed for bankruptcy and deeded its property near Tuscaloosa to Mrs. Donald. She sold the building for about $52,000 and bought a home. She died a year and a half later at age 67.