Nevin C. Cranford was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina on May 13, 1883. He worked as the chain gang superintendent of the Stanly County Highway Commission from 1914 to 1923. Numerous ex-prisoners reported Cranford's cruelty, noting that he routinely subjected inmates to inhumane brutalities. In 1923 an investigation was launched into Cranford's treatment of prisoners and in 1925 he was brought to court on charges of having beaten two African American prisoners to death in 1918 and causing the death of another African American prisoner in 1925. Although numerous witnesses testified against him during the five-month trial, the all-white jury found Cranford not guilty of the crimes after 40 minutes of deliberation. In 1927 Cranford became the Police Chief of Albemarle, Stanly County. He died in Stanly County, North Carolina on May 10, 1936.