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Michael Anthony Donald was a 19-year-old African-American man living in Mobile, Alabama, who was studying at a technical college and working at the Mobile Press Register. On the night of March 20–21, 1981, following a mistrial in the murder case of an African-American defendant, Josephus Anderson, members of United Klans of America (UKA) Unit 900 expressed anger over the outcome. Henry Hays, son of senior UKA official Bennie Jack Hays, and 17-year-old James "Tiger" Knowles drove through a predominantly Black neighborhood in Mobile looking for someone to attack. They encountered Michael Donald, who had no connection to the Anderson case, walking home after buying cigarettes for his sister. The two men lured him into their car under the pretext of asking for directions, then forced him at gunpoint to a wooded area near Mobile Bay.
Donald attempted to escape but was caught, beaten with a tree limb, and strangled with a rope by Hays while Knowles continued beating him. After Donald stopped moving, Hays cut his throat. The men hung his body from a tree on Herndon Avenue, across from Hays's home, where it remained until the next morning. The same night, two other UKA members burned a cross at the Mobile County courthouse.
An initial police investigation led to the brief detention of three men based on a tipster's account; the tipster was later convicted of perjury and sentenced to life as a habitual offender, and the three suspects were released. Michael Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, sought help from Rev. Jesse Jackson, who organized a protest. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Figures pressed for a renewed FBI investigation, working with agent James Bodman. In 1983, Henry Hays and James Knowles were arrested. Knowles confessed and later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations, receiving a life sentence from U.S. District Judge William Brevard Hand after testifying against Hays and others. Henry Hays was convicted of capital murder; a judge overrode the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment and imposed a death sentence. Hays was executed in Alabama's electric chair on June 6, 1997 — the state's first execution for a white-on-black crime since 1913, and the only 20th-century execution of a Klansman for killing an African American.
Benjamin Franklin Cox Jr., who had supplied the rope and a pistol, was initially discharged due to a statute-of-limitations issue but was reindicted for murder in 1987 and convicted as an accomplice in 1989, receiving a life sentence; he was paroled in 2000. Bennie Jack Hays was indicted for inciting the murder, but his criminal case ended in mistrial after he collapsed in court, and he died before retrial.
Beulah Mae Donald, assisted by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center and attorney Michael Figures, filed a wrongful death civil suit against the UKA in 1984. In 1987, an all-white jury found the UKA liable and awarded $7 million in damages, a judgment that bankrupted the organization and set a precedent for civil actions against hate groups. Beulah Mae Donald died on September 17, 1988. In 2006, Mobile renamed Herndon Avenue in Michael Donald's honor.
Key facts
- Victims
- Michael Donald, Beulah Mae Donald
- Date
- 1981
- Location
- Mobile, Alabama
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1961-07-24
Michael Anthony Donald is born in Mobile, Alabama.
1981-03-20
A second mistrial is declared in the murder trial of Josephus Anderson in Mobile; UKA members meet and express anger over the outcome.
1981-03-21
Henry Hays and James Knowles abduct, beat, strangle, and kill Michael Donald, then hang his body from a tree on Herndon Avenue in Mobile.
1981-03-25
Police take three men into custody as suspects based on a tipster's account.
1981-06-06
The three initial suspects are released after the tipster is found to have committed perjury.
1981-07-01
The tipster is convicted of perjury.
1981-07-28
The tipster is sentenced to life in prison as a habitual offender.
1983
Henry Hays and James Knowles are arrested; Knowles confesses to FBI agent James Bodman.
1984
Beulah Mae Donald, with Morris Dees and Michael Figures, files a wrongful death civil suit against the United Klans of America; evidence from the case leads to the indictment of Benjamin Cox and Bennie Hays.
1985
James Knowles is indicted by a federal grand jury, pleads guilty to civil rights violations, and is sentenced to life in prison.
1987
An Alabama grand jury reindicts Benjamin Cox for murder; a jury in the civil suit finds the UKA liable and awards $7 million in damages.
1988-09-17
Beulah Mae Donald dies.
1988
A mistrial is declared in Benjamin Cox's first murder retrial.
1989-05-18
Benjamin Cox is convicted as an accomplice in Donald's killing and sentenced to life in prison.
1997-06-06
Henry Hays is executed by electric chair at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.
2000
Benjamin Cox is paroled.
2006
James Knowles is paroled after serving 25 years; Mobile renames Herndon Avenue in honor of Michael Donald.
2021-03
Josephus Anderson dies at Holman Correctional Facility, where he had been serving a life sentence for the murder of a police officer.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Bennie Hays
CHARGEDIndicted for inciting the murder of Michael Donald; his criminal case ended in mistrial when he collapsed in court, and he died of a heart attack before retrial.
citation on file
Benjamin Cox
CONVICTEDConvicted in 1989 as an accomplice in Donald's killing for providing a rope and pistol; sentenced to life in prison; paroled in 2000.
citation on file
Michael Donald
VICTIM19-year-old African-American man abducted, beaten, strangled, and killed by KKK members in Mobile, Alabama, on March 21, 1981.
citation on file
Beulah Mae Donald
VICTIMMother of Michael Donald; brought a successful wrongful death civil suit against the United Klans of America that resulted in a $7 million judgment.
citation on file
Henry Hays
CONVICTEDConvicted of capital murder for Donald's killing; sentenced to death by a judge who overrode a jury recommendation of life imprisonment; executed by electric chair on June 6, 1997.
citation on file
James Knowles
CONVICTEDPleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations in connection with Donald's murder; sentenced to life in prison in 1985 after testifying against Hays and others; paroled in 2006 after serving 25 years.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On March 21, 1981, 19-year-old Michael Donald, an African-American man, was abducted, beaten, strangled, and killed by two Ku Klux Klan members in Mobile, Alabama, and his body was hung from a tree. His mother's subsequent civil suit bankrupted the United Klans of America.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Mobile, Alabama.
- Who was convicted?
- Benjamin Cox (Convicted in 1989 as an accomplice in Donald's killing for providing a rope and pistol; sentenced to life in prison; paroled in 2000.), Henry Hays (Convicted of capital murder for Donald's killing; sentenced to death by a judge who overrode a jury recommendation of life imprisonment; executed by electric chair on June 6, 1997.), and James Knowles (Pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations in connection with Donald's murder; sentenced to life in prison in 1985 after testifying against Hays and others; paroled in 2006 after serving 25 years.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- Lynching of Michael Donaldwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — NPRnews · NPR · 2026-07-07
