Lynching

Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of informal group social control, and it is often conducted with the display of a public spectacle (often, though not necessarily, in the form of a hanging) for maximum intimidation. Instances of lynchings and similar mob violence can be found in all societies. In the United States, where the word lynching likely originated, the practice became widely associated with vigilante justice on the frontier and with mob attacks on African Americans accused of crimes at the hands of whites. The latter became frequent in the South during the period after the Reconstruction era, especially during the nadir of American race relations. Black people are thought to be the primary victims of lynching in the U.S. (about 72% of the total). In Europe, lynching took a very different form. In the late 18th and in the 19th century, Europe went through various revolution and periods of political instability and lynching of political opponents or enemies became the norm during the French Revolution and the 1848 Revolutions. Nobles, perceived enemies, people accused or suspected of treason were targeted by mobs. The practice persisted in the early 20th century in places like the Soviet Union and territories of the former Russian Empire as a consequence of the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War.