This image is the cover for the book Side by Side

Side by Side

A true crime story of a gruesome double homicide in the Jim Crow South, and the manhunt and trial that followed.

In Oxford, Mississippi, the dawn of the twentieth century seemed to present a sweeping landscape of progress and possibility. But under this veneer of technological advancement, cultural achievement, and prosperity lurked a stubborn core of racial discrimination, rampant criminal brutality, and violence.

On a Sunday morning in 1901, the mutilated corpses of two federal marshals were discovered in the smoldering remains of the home of a notorious local malefactor. The murders, committed by moonshiner and counterfeiter Will Mathis and his father-in-law’s servant Orlando Lester, captivated the nation. The crimes ignited a manhunt, a trial marked by desperate lies and legerdemain, and a media frenzy around the hanging of a white man and a black man side by side.

This enthralling account centers on two men—judged unequal in life but equal in death. The story draws on primary sources to craft a spellbinding narrative of singular immediacy and vitality. With the consummate skill of a master raconteur, author T. J. Ray powerfully evokes an era, a community, and its people.

T.J. Ray

T. J. Ray earned his BA and MA in English from Mississippi College and his PhD from the University of Oregon. He taught English literature and grammar at the University of Mississippi in Oxford for thirty years and was a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, the Mississippi Philological Association, and many other organizations. Now retired, Ray pursues photography, working with his 1903 printing press, and exploring Oxford’s rich history.

Pelican Publishing