It still happens, and the Messenger story is a sad one. This occurred in Florida in 1951, and if you have ever lived in this "right to work state" oppression does still go on, in subtler forms.
A previous review hinted at inbreeding, on the part of the victim. Perhaps he has worked in the Florida jail system. Is a person to be condemned because of their family? Apparently, some reactionaries believe so. Just as they probably believe in state "vouchers" recently declared illegal by the Florida Supreme Court.
This is an important story which people should be exposed to; there is still injustice occurring; whether or not people accept this depends, I guess, on whether or not their son or daughter ends up in a Florida prison. Then they may start to care about their constitutional rights, and how they are being violated.