ABSTRACT
Quite frequently lynching has been thought of as a form of social control consisting in the taking of the life of one or more persons by a mob in retribution for some criminal outrage committed by the former. This method of unceremonial punishment is assumed to be common on the frontier where there is no constituted juridical machinery; and where, in the interest of social order, the group finds itself constrained to act spontaneously. Furthermore, it is known to occur in organized society where some crime is of such a heinous and socially revolting nature that an angry crowd gathers spontaneously and passionately mangles the criminal to death. Even in this situation, however, the police may be ineffectively organized, as is ordinarily the case in rural communities.
