Biography
Bertha Lowman was among five Lowman family members arrested following the April 25, 1925 Aiken County raid in which Sheriff Howard and Annie Lowman were killed. The May 27, 1926 South Carolina Supreme Court opinion establishes all five in Aiken County Jail by May 8; four had first been taken to the state penitentiary, while wounded Bertha initially went to hospital. Bertha received a life sentence and Demon and Clarence death sentences. The May 27, 1926 reversal ordered a new trial rather than physical release. Contemporary reporting says Bertha, Demon and Clarence were taken from jail and lynched October 8, 1926; death is not a release. The source describes a racially charged prosecution and subsequent mob violence. Court source: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914cde0add7b04934815cd0 Source: https://garveynation.com/site/documents/negroworld/NW_21.24_1927-01-22.pdf#page=6