| Seminole burning | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Near Maud, Oklahoma, US |
| Coordinates | 35°07′55″N 96°46′39″W / 35.13194°N 96.77750°W |
| Date | January 8, 1898 c. 3:00 AM CST (UTC-5:00) |
| Target | Lincoln McGeisey and Palmer Sampson |
Attack type | Lynching by live burning |
| Deaths | 2 |
The Seminole burning was the lynching by live burning of two Seminole youth, Lincoln McGeisey and Palmer Sampson, near Maud, Oklahoma, on January 8, 1898.
On December 30, 1897, a woman named Mary Leard was murdered in her home by a Native American man. When her body was discovered by her husband and Maud townspeople the next day, a white mob began to form, and they combed the area to find the person guilty. They cornered, detained, kidnapped, tortured, and—in some cases—mock lynched several men over a few days, before they settled on two teenagers they thought were guilty of the crime: Lincoln McGeisey and Palmer Sampson. McGeisey and Sampson were chosen despite there being no evidence for a second killer, and the mob accused them of raping, murdering, and having sex with the dead body of Mary Leard. Although Sampson allegedly admitted guilt in the crime, both of them were likely innocent.
The mob chained the two together by the neck and brought them to a makeshift prayer site. They were surrounded by dry brush and wooden poles, and after a member of the mob lit the pile on fire, they burned alive. McGeisey's flesh sloughed off his body, and Sampson tried to struggle against the flames; both died. They were buried on Seminole land, their bodies still chained together.
Dozens of men were indicted in relation to the case. In front of judge John R. Thomas, special prosecutor Horace Speed led the prosecutions of the men involved in the lynching. Ultimately, six of them were convicted and imprisoned. It was the first successful prosecution of lynching in the Southwestern United States, though one man was released early from prison and returned home to a celebration proclaiming his innocence.