The case was the second time black South Carolina lawyers had appeared before the Supreme Court,[1] and became famous for the issues involved.

[4] Upon the Constables' instruction, Spires asked Franklin to plow his field, possibly through a closed front door.

[4] Franklin's leaving the Thomas farm was legal, otherwise his contract would have, indeed, been illegal peonage, but the landowner had convinced officials to write a warrant for his arrest.

Ex Attorney General Charles Bonaparte became involved in the case on behalf of the Constitution League and wrote a brief to the court.

[8] Adams said that Bonaparte's submission of a brief in Franklin's appeal to the Supreme Court is, "The work of a few hot-headed negroes of Philadelphia, who have absolutely no authority to take such a step in the case".

The appeal was based in part on rules in South Carolina at that time that only people who could vote could serve on a jury.

[6] Washington contacted Taft, black legislator Thomas E. Miller, NAACP secretary Francis Blascoer,[14] and others became involved and two white attorneys, Bernard Hagood and Claude Sawyer were hired to convince then South Carolina governor Martin Frederick Ansel to commute the decision.

[2] Franklin's death sentence was commuted to life on December 30, 1910 coming into effect January 6, 1911,[15] but Ansel's successor, Cole Blease, was not considered receptive to calls to repudiate injustice towards blacks.

He was released in January 1919 on parole "during good behavior", his sentence commuted by South Carolina Governor Richard I.

][3] After his release, Franklin changed his name to Mack Rockingham and lived in Blackville, South Carolina with Patsy and two sons.

Greene fled with a bullet wound in his shoulder to Chicago after killing an Arkansas farmer who tried to indenture or enslave Franklin on his farm.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett's Negro Fellowship League raised money to organize a defense committee and safely bring Greene to Canada.