Alice Jessie Mitchell (November 26, 1872 – March 31, 1898) was an American woman who gained notoriety for the murder of her lover, Freda Ward.

[1] Mitchell was subsequently found insane by means of a jury inquisition and placed in a psychiatric hospital until her death in 1898.

Her mother tried to teach her sewing and needlework, but Alice never enjoyed doing this work nor was ever able to learn how.

This was not considered as homosexual behavior during this period and intimate female friendships were called "chumming" in Memphis.

After following them in a wagon, driven by her friend Lillie Johnson, Alice saw Freda and walked over to her on thawing ice.

Freda, bleeding and disoriented, was finally killed by Alice with a deep slice across her throat.

All charges were dropped against Lillie Johnson and Alice was ordered to Western State Hospital for the Insane located at Bolivar, Tennessee.

[3] The case, which was exploited by sensationalist press, focused attention on the sexual attachments of women and drew out discussions of lesbianism into the public discourse.

[8] The case influenced the popular literature of the era which began to depict lesbians as "murderous" and "masculine".

"[10] In the courtroom, Alice Mitchell was presented as "insane" by her attorneys and her trial was not tried in criminal court but for questioning of lunacy.

Mitchell's story is the subject of the book Alice + Freda Forever by Alexis Coe, which is being adapted into a film directed by Jennifer Kent.