An African-American man named King Martin was accused and convicted of assaulting, raping and threatening to kill a 16-year-old white girl named Lizzie Wilson in Kaufman County on 5 July 1899.  The following Newspaper Articles chronicle his case from the time of his arrest, through his trial and sentencing, his attempted jail escape and being shot, his appeal and ultimately, his execution.

The articles accurately portray the social ideas of the populace about crimes committed against whites by blacks during that period, including what could be considered an overly-severe punishment for Martin when compared to what perpetrators today would receive for committing the same crime.

Until locating these articles it was not known by Kaufman historians that this, or any executions, had taken place on Kaufman's Poor Farm property, only that this man was buried in the County's Poor Farm graveyard.