New Report Shows Lynchings in America Never Stopped… They Only Evolved

A 39-year-old Black man, Tory Medley, was found last November hanging from a tree near a Wisconsin golf course. Authorities rules his death a suicide, but his family said it was a modern-day lynching.

Historians argue the last lynching that ever took place in the country happened in 1981, but a new report published by civil rights group JULIAN suggests Black Americans are still dealing with fears of being lynched… even if officials aren’t investigating their deaths as hate crimes.

JULIAN’s “Crimson Record” acts as a modern version of journalist Ida B. Wells’ “A Red Record,” which documented lynchings of the 19th century. The “Crimson Record” breaks down dozens of what the group argues are modern-day lynchings (MDL) from 2000 to as recent as last year.

“The analysis reveals recurring patterns of violence, systemic neglect and law enforcement misconduct that echo the racial terror of earlier eras,” the report reads. The record analyzed over 150 hate crimes and suspicious cases which resulted in deaths of Black, Brown, immigrant, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities.

The civil rights group alleged over 70 MDLs have occurred over the years, and unfortunately, these types of crimes are on the rise. Back in 2021, JULIAN founder Jill Collen Jefferson warned the Washington Post that “lynchings in Mississippi never stopped.”

The state actually has the highest number of suspected lynchings, according to the report, with at least 20 cases. Twelve alleged lynchings were caused by hanging or decapitation. This includes 21-year-old Trey Reed, whose death captivated the Black community in 2025.

Reed was a student at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. On Sept. 15, 2025, his body was found hanging from a tree on campus. Despite an independent investigation into his cause of death still under review by JULIAN and the FBI, the report noted that his death was initially ruled a suicide.

According to the record, lynchings are some of the toughest crimes to prove. “Unlike other hate crimes, lynchings, especially lynchings by hanging, tend to be ruled suicides initially,” JULIAN reported. In many of these cases, once a case has been ruled a suicide, “getting them to change their suicide designation
is an uphill battle, and only if they rule the death a homicide can the federal hate crimes statute come into play.”

Of the dozens of MDLs reported, about 50 are notably of transgender women. FBI data shows nearly 3,000 hate crimes against transgender people occurred since January 2000, even though they make up less than one percent of the total population. In the Black community, the trans community is much smaller yet a lot more at risk of being targeted.

But these tragic occurrences are not just evidence of American history. These modern-day lynchings have evolved, which arguably makes them more dangerous than ever.

“They thrive in silence—in the gaps between coroner’s reports and truth, between
official explanations and the lived experience of grieving families,” JULIAN reported. “What was once a public ritual of white supremacy has become a quieter machinery of neglect, operating through misclassification, inadequate investigation, and the failure to see Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, indigenous, and physically impaired lives as fully grievable.”

JULIAN’s founder spoke to Advocate about why highlighting modern lynchings of diverse Black people can combat stereotypes against us. She argues when these deaths are misclassified as a suicide, gang violence or mental health related, you’re doing a disservice to the victims and their families.

“You still have the situation where there is this deliberate effort to find another reason, other than the obvious reason that’s right in front of you, to name this something else,” Jefferson said.