Charles Lynch

For the Canadian journalist Charles Lynch see Charles Lynch (journalist).For the Charles Lynch who was Mississippi's Governor, see Charles Lynch (politician).Charles Lynch (1736 –  October 29, 1796) was a Virginia planter and American Patriot who headed an irregular court formed in central Virginia to punish supporters of the British during the American Revolution. The terms lynching and lynch law possibly derive from his actions. The sentences handed down included whipping, property seizure, coerced pledges of allegiance, and conscription, but never hanging.
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