seeking a twig or branch of the infamous "gallows tree", the bark and lower branches having been hacked and stripped for mementos. Impact of the case The lynching was unique in American political and criminal justice history because of the involvement of a state governor, and the eagerness by civic and business leaders and law enforcement, to allow the extrajudicial killings of two men who had not been indicted, arraigned, tried, or sentenced for the crime in a court of law. Many modern historians conclude that the two men were indeed guilty. Royce Brier, a staff writer for the Chronicle, would later go on to win the 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting for his account of the lynching. According to the prize citation, Brier worked for sixteen hours along with several assistants mingling with the mob and telephoning running updates from a garage across the street from the jail before composing the story in three hours starting at 12:30 a.m. on the morning of November 27. In addition, the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning went to Edmund Duffy of The Baltimore Sun for his cartoon, "California Points With Pride", which lampooned Governor Rolph's response to the lynching. Prosecution of lynch mob Governor Rolph praised the action, stating that California had sent a message to future kidnappers, and promised to pardon anyone involved in the lynching. However, Rolph died on June 2, 1934, before any charges had been filed in the case. Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren was the strongest supporter of prosecution for the lynching. Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Herbert Bridges was quoted as saying he was "not sorry [the lynching] happened in San Jose". Santa Clara County District Attorney Fred Thomas doubted anyone could be found to bear witness against the ringleaders of the lynching, characterizing the stories being told by local youths as "boastful" but uncorroborated. The American Civil Liberties Union stated they had found eyewitnesses ready to identify members of the mob by December 1933, but San Jose citizens were outspoken in their opposition to "outsider" interference. Eventually seven people were arrested for the lynchings, but none was convicted. California did not specifically define lynching as a crime, although crimes committed during the lynching such as rioting, assault, and murder could potentially be prosecuted. One young man was charged for participating in the lynching after he publicly claimed credit for leading the mob, but