Jim, an African American man residing in Bladen County, North Carolina, was enslaved by Benjamin Clark. Sometime in about July 1777, Jim perpetrated several robberies in nearby New Hanover County, North Carolina. Jim may have conducted the robberies while on the run, having self-emancipated himself from his enslaver in Bladen. Whatever the reason for his crimes, Jim was captured and put on trial at Wilmington on July 18, 1777. The local court found Jim guilty and sentenced him to execution by hanging on July 21, 1777.