Amy Louise Wood of Illinois State University writes that the event was "a defining moment in the history of lynching", arguing that with Washington's death, "lynching began to sow the seeds of its own collapse".
伊利诺伊州立大学的艾米·路易丝·伍德（Amy Louise Wood）称，这起事件是“私刑历史上的关键时刻”，随着华盛顿的死，“私刑开始播下自己崩溃的种子”。