Indiana state Rep. Jim Lucas, who has a history of controversial social media posts, is defending himself against accusations of racism after he posted a photo of a gallows on a story about a black man who pleaded guilty to rape.

The story, posted Thursday to WISHTV's Facebook page, included a picture of Marquise D. Dozier and detailed how he pleaded guilty in a Fort Wayne courtroom to raping three women.

Lucas, R-Seymour, posted the photo of a gallows with two rope nooses in the comments section under the article. By Friday afternoon, there were more than 20 responses and at least 75 reactions to his comment, with some commenters accusing him of racism because of the abhorrent history of lynching black people. Some also were incredulous he was a lawmaker.

Others defended Lucas, saying he merely wanted to punish a rapist and the man's race was inconsequential.

Reached Friday on his cellphone, Lucas told IndyStar that he believes in capital punishment and has posted the photo multiple times on social media under various stories involving both black and white perpetrators.

Lucas said he's not racist and does not believe the photo is racist. He indicated that Dozier's crimes reached a level of heinousness that warrants capital punishment.

"I don't see color," Lucas said. "I saw a rapist. Whether he's black, white, brown, I don't care."

He provided a screenshot, which IndyStar verified, of a gallows photo that he posted as a comment Monday to a story on WISH-TV's Facebook page about Cane L. Madden, a white man who was arrested in Kentucky on rape charges. Lucas' photo was one of several on that post that featured nooses.

Asked why he didn't post a photo of a current method of execution, he said he believes in public executions and pointed to the gallows as a method once widely used in the United States. He said the photos of the gallows he found is from a courthouse in Tombstone, Arizona, a state which he noted did not have slavery.

Arizona became the 48th U.S. state in 1912, long after slavery had ended. But the reality is many in the American Southwest and the Confederacy wanted to see slavery extended all the way to the ports and gold mines along the Pacific Ocean in California.

He said he knows he's being accused of racism, and thinks that's a societal problem. He said that's why he's decided to explain his use of the photo to multiple media outlets. He also posted an explanation on his own Facebook page.

"That's how broken society has become," he told IndyStar. "We can't have an honest, open conversation with respect or civility. People just jump to their own conclusions of whatever it is people want to project on somebody. ... I encourage people to stand up for themselves and put an end to this nonsense."

State Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, called the post abhorrent.

“The history behind an image of a noose is something that we all know too well as a powerful visual symbol connected to the history of lynching of African-Americans in this country," she said in a prepared statement. “We must work together to stop the normalization of racism and hate that has risen in the past couple of years in our country and state. As an elected official and lawmaker, we would have hoped Rep. Lucas would use his platform to work against these detriments to our society."

“We invite Rep. Lucas to meet with members of the IBLC and talk about the photo he posted, so that we may, as colleagues, share with him how his actions are hurtful and intimidating to the African-American community.”

As of Friday afternoon, Lucas said, he had not heard from Republican leadership to discuss the post or his response. He said he wasn't sure whether he would.

"Why would they?" he asked. "I put a picture up there of capital punishment and as far as I know that's the only form of public capital punishment that American has ever had."

Lucas is a Marine, owns an awning company and was first elected in 2012. He's most known for his ardent support of gun rights and has a history of making controversial comments.

In June 2017, he posted a letter to Facebook saying women should arm themselves to avoid becoming victims of rape. While he indicated he wanted to empower women, others accused him of victim blaming.

In January 2017, Lucas was criticized for another Facebook post he shared after the post-inauguration Women's March. The post showed a police officer in riot gear, pepper-spraying a woman in the face, with the overlaying text: "Participation trophies, now in liquid form."

In December 2016, he posted a meme on Facebook of a woman in a car trunk with the caption: "Wanna know who loves you more: your wife or your dog? Lock them both in your trunk and see who's happy to see you when you let them out."

Lucas deleted and apologized for the posts in December 2016 and January 2017 after he received criticism from the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

He later said he believed those posts were blown out of proportion.

IndyStar archives contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at 317-444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.