Without Mercy: The Stunning True Story of Race, Crime, and Corruption in the Deep South
Page 21
31. “Rivers Calls for Completion of New Deal Program.”
32. “City Ministers Split on Purchase of Bibles Contemplated by State,” Atlanta Constitution, July 27, 1937.
33. Mary Alice Lee of Lakeland, Georgia, interview by the author, Dec. 2012.
1. Thrill Killers
1. Jane Walker Herndon, “Eurith Dickinson Rivers: A Political Biography,” Ph.D. diss., University of Georgia, 1974, 44.
2. Nell Patter Roquemore, Roots, Rocks, and Recollections, (Self-Published, 1989), 433.
3. This description of Harsh and Gallogly is derived from trial coverage in the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution, Jan.–Feb. 1929.
4. “Harsh, Gallogly to Be Center of Great Battle in Courts,” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 29, 1928.
5. “Miss Brumby and Mr. McGehee Wed at Quiet Home Ceremony,” Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 19, 1928.
6. Ibid.
7. George Harsh, Lonesome Road (Curtis Books, 1971), 22–23.
8. Ibid., 23.
9. “Harsh and Gallogly Sued for $5,000 Each,” Atlanta Constitution, Nov. 28, 1928.
10. Harsh, 24.
11. Ibid.
12. “Quick Ending to George Harsh Trial Seen as State Nears Close of Case on First Day,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 16, 1929.
13. “Gallogly Case to Reach Jury Before Night,” Atlanta Constitution, March 21, 1929.
14. Atlanta Journal, “2 Thugs at Large Believed Slayers of Grocery Clerk,” Oct. 16, 1928.
15. “George Harsh Confesses Local Killings,” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 28, 1928.
16. “An Atlanta Appeal for Leo Frank,” New York Times, May 30, 1915.
17. “Separate Trials Planned for Harsh, Gallogly,” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 31, 1928.
18. “Harsh, in First Interview, States He Is ‘Deeply Sorry’;” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 29, 1928.
19. “George Harsh Sentenced to Die,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 20, 1929.
20. State of Georgia v. George Harsh, Amended Motion for New Trial, March 30, 1929, Fulton County Superior Court, Case Number 30795.
21. “Jury Hears Opening of State’s Case Against Gallogly,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 30, 1929.
22. “Gallogly’s Acquittal Asked by Defense Counsel,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 31, 1929.
23. “Jury Deadlocked in Gallogly Murder Trial,” Atlanta Constitution, Feb. 1, 1929.
24. Harsh, 27.
25. Sentence, George Harsh, Fulton County Superior Court, April 1, 1929, Case Number 30795.
2. The Great Titan
1. Herndon, 22.
2. Official Klan document, Feb. 15, 1927, Klan, Georgia, University of Georgia, Hargret Library, Collection MS 712, KKK Bulletins, Box 2, Folder 8. Rivers was named one of eight great titans in Georgia. Rivers was head of Province No. 5, which covered Dooly, Crisp, Turner, Tift, Irwin, Telfair, Pulaski, Colquitt, Brooks, Lowndes, Lanier, Ben Hill, Wilcox, Cook, Berrien, Atkison, Coffee, Jeff Davis, and Dodge Counties.
3. Constitution and Laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Inc., 1934, University of Tulsa Special Collections and University Archives McFarlin Library, 1993.
4. “Klan Organ Prints Governor’s Address at Klonvocation,” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 16, 1924.
5. “Birth of a Nation at Atlanta Theater,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 5, 1915.
6. “Rebel Yell Adds Realism to Birth of a Nation,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 14, 1915.
7. “The Practice of Klanishness,” Document 1, Series AD, 1924, published by Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, purchased by the author.
8. Nancy Maclean, Behind the Mask of Chivalry (Oxford University Press, 1994), 161.
9. “Simmons Heads Lanier University,” Atlanta Constitution, Aug. 19, 1921.
10. Texas Historical Association, A Digital Gateway to Texas History, “Evans, Hiram Wesley,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fev17.
11. Maclean, 98.
12. Ibid.
13. “Defense Hit for Not Calling Sanity Expert,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 20, 1923.
14. “Troops Seek Bodies in Louisiana Lakes,” New York Times, Dec. 21, 1922.
15. “Torture Device Used on Victims of Mer Rouge Mob,” New York Times, Jan. 7, 1923.
16. “Klan Head Assails Mer Rouge Hearing,” New York Times, Jan. 27, 1923.
17. “Judge Throws Klan Out of His Court,” New York Times, April 14, 1928.
18. Hiram Wesley Evans, The Rising Storm, Reprint edition (Arno Press, 1977), 321.
19. Ibid.
20. Nathan Bedford Forrest, “Democratic Loyalty in 1928,” Kourier, Sept. 1928, 21.
21. “Rivers Loyalty Is Sharply Rapped at Macon Address,” Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 4, 1928.
22. “Demand Rivers Answer Questions of Loyalty to Democratic Party,” Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 7, 1928.
3. Laid to Rest
1. Williams tells the story of his life in the trial transcript included with the Georgia Supreme Court case, Williams v. The State, Case Number 01561, decided March term, 1933. The original trial transcript is housed with the Georgia Supreme Court case file at the Georgia Archives. A microfilm copy is at the Georgia Supreme Court.
2. All information on the auto purchase and loan transactions was obtained from the trial transcript, ibid.
3. Testimony of B. H. Fincher, ibid.
4. Testimony of E. H. Bell, ibid.
5. Williams statement to the jury, ibid.
6. Testimony of Lieutenant Charles Ramsbell, ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Williams statement to the jury, ibid.
9. Georgia Supreme Court synopsis of the evidence, ibid.
10. Testimony of Lieutenant Charles Ramsbell, ibid.
11. Testimony of Mrs. W. D. Hawkes, ibid.
12. “Preacher Gives Version of Actions of His Son,” Augusta Chronicle, Sept. 8, 1931.
13. Williams statement to the jury, trial transcript, Williams v. The State, Case Number 01561, Georgia Supreme Court.
14. Testimony of Sheriff M. Gary Whittle, ibid.
15. “Preacher Gives Version of Actions of His Son.”
16. “Robbery Was Motive of Williams Murder,” Augusta Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1931.
17. “Murder Case Advances,” Augusta Chronicle, Oct. 20, 1931.
18. Williams statement to the jury, trial transcript, Williams v. The State, Case Number 01561, Georgia Supreme Court.
19. “Williams Jury Is Deadlocked,” Augusta Chronicle, Oct. 28, 1931.
20. South Georgia Annual Conference Journal, 1931, question 12.
21. “Expects Case to Be a Mistrial,” Augusta Chronicle, Oct. 31, 1931.
22. “Williams Convicted of Murder of Son,” Augusta Chronicle, Dec. 13, 1931.
4. A Baby with No Name
1. Georgia Department of Public Health, Monthly Mortality Report, Jan. 1, 1939–Aug. 31, 1939, Georgia Archives, Vital Statistics, 1939.
2. Dr. T. F. Abercrombie, Georgia public heath director, to E. D. Rivers, June 7, 1939, Georgia Archives, 26-2-3 DPH, Governor, June–December 1939.
3. Tom Dickerson tells the story of his life in a trial transcript, Dickerson v. State, Georgia Supreme Court, Case Number 12329, Sept. 15, 1938. Original trial transcript is available at the Georgia Archives and on microfilm at the Georgia Supreme Court.
4. Ibid. In the trial transcript, Dickerson’s daughter, Tina Mae, describes the crime in detail.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Tom Dickerson to Tina Mae, Oct. 16, 1937, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Clemency, 1938.
9. Trial transcript, Dickerson v. State, Georgia Supreme Court, Case Number 12329, Sept. 15, 1938.
5. A Deadly Bug
1. “Big Lottery Firm Folds, Bug War Off,” Atlanta Constitution, Aug. 12, 1937.
2. Ibid.
3. “New Bug Killings May Prove Clues to Old Mysteries,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 13, 1936.
&n
bsp; 4. “Boykin Will Seek Padlock on Club,” Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 23, 1927.
5. “Eddie Guyol, Alive an Open Book, Becomes an Enigma After Death,” Atlanta Constitution, April 25, 1935.
6. “Eddie Guyol, Atlanta Number Game Leader, Slain in Racket Killing in Fashionable Section,” Atlanta Constitution, April 24, 1935.
7. “Indictment in Guyol Murder Returned,” Atlanta Constitution, May 23, 1936.
8. Trial transcript, Fluker v. State, Georgia Supreme Court, Case Number 11951, Nov. 10, 1937. Available at Georgia Archives or on microfilm at Georgia Supreme Court.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. “Fluker Found Guilty, Doomed to Electric Chair,” Atlanta Constitution, Nov. 8, 1936.
13. Trial transcript, Fluker v. State.
14. Ibid.
6. A Friend from the Klan
1. “Interesting Georgia Personalities Via the Zodiac: Dr. Hiram Wesley Evans,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 22, 1936.
2. Official Klan document, Feb. 15, 1927, Klan, Georgia, University of Georgia, Hargret Library.
3. “Mrs. Roosevelt Preaches Racial Equality to Negroes,” Kourier, June 1935, 1, document owned by the author.
4. “Negro Goes Democratic,” Kourier, Aug. 1936, 21.
5. “Ku Klux Klan Denies Black Is a Member,” Augusta Chronicle, Sept. 19, 1937.
6. Ibid.
7. “Evans, Figure in Asphalt Quiz, Brought Ku Klux Klan to Peak,” Atlanta Constitution, May 31, 1940.
8. Hiram W. Evans v. Commissioner, United States Tax Court 5 T.C.M. (CCH) 336, April 30, 1946.
9. Telegram from the White House to Ed Rivers, March 21; 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, folder 4966.
10. “The Presidency: Midnight Mystery,” Time, April 11, 1938.
11. Herndon, 231.
12. Memo from Stephen T. Early to M. H. McIntyre McIntyre, May 17, 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, folder 4966.
13. Herndon, 231.
14. Typewritten copy of Rivers’s Sea Island speech, Georgia Archives, RCB 7655: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Correspondence, 1938.
15. Lucy Mason to Eleanor Roosevelt, May 21, 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, 300-Georgia-D. Mason wrote, “Very grave trouble may be avoided in the future if the President can convince Rivers that it is no part of the New Deal policy to flout labor organization and labor leaders. Rivers’ keen little ears are always pricked toward the White House.”
16. “Klan in Georgia a Going Concern,” San Antonio Spotlight, Sept. 25, 1937.
17. Hiram W. Evans v. Commissioner.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Federal Bureau of Investigation files, Hiram Wesley Evans, obtained by the author through the Freedom of Information Act.
21. Ibid.
22. “Engagement of Miss Evans Is Announced,” Atlanta Constitution, Nov. 28, 1937.
23. “Greer Bought Lot for Rivers, Wife Testifies,” Atlanta Constitution, May 23, 1942.
7. “Lord, I Am Dying”
1. Tuskegee Institute Archives, “Lynching White and Negroes, 1882–1969.” http://192.203.127.197/archive/handle/123456789/511.
2. “Governors Assail Anti-Lynch Bill,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 18, 1938.
3. “Ruling of the Supreme Court in the Scottsboro Case,” New York Times, April 2, 1935.
4. “Text of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Scottsboro Case,” New York Times, Nov. 8, 1932.
5. Ibid.
6. “Scottsboro Trial Moved 50 Miles,” New York Times, March 8, 1933.
7. Harry Haywood, A Black Communist in the Freedom Struggle (University of Minnesota Press, 2012), 185.
8. The picnic is described in court transcripts from the trials of Arthur Perry, Perry v. the State, Case Number 12148, Jan. 19, 1938. Original case files are at the Georgia Archives with microfilm copies at the Georgia Supreme Court.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. “Helton Slayer Sentenced to Die,” Columbus Ledger, Aug. 5, 1937.
13. Ibid.
14. “Secure Stay of Execution for Duo,” Atlanta Daily World, Sept. 8, 1937.
15. “Helton Slayer Sentenced to Die.”
16. “Mack, Perry Are Sentenced to Die Sept. 3,” Columbus Ledger, Aug. 6, 1937.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Telegram from Thurgood Marshall to E. D. Rivers, Aug. 27, 1937, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur. NAACP records are available on microfilm at various libraries in the United States including the Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta.
21. Telegram from E. D. Rivers to Thurgood Marshall, Aug. 31, 1937. Georgia archives. Georgia Archives. RCB 8999: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Correspondence, 1937.
22. “Governor’s Decision on Clemency Petition of Wheat Seen Soon,” Marietta Daily Journal, July 13, 1939.
23. In fact, Wheat was paroled on July 4, 1947, less than ten years after the killing. “S. J. Wheat, Jr., Convicted Slayer, Freed on July 4,” Marietta Daily Journal, July 16, 1947.
24. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. State of Georgia v. George Harsh, Motion for New Trial, Feb. 18, 1929, Fulton County Superior Court, Case Number 30795.
29. Perry v. the State, Case Number 12148, Jan. 19, 1938.
30. “Text of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Scottsboro Case.”
31. Charles Houston to George Munroe, March 19, 1938, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur.
32. George Munroe to NAACP, March 16, 1938, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur.
33. Trial transcript, Perry v. the State, Georgia Supreme Court, Case Number 12420, Sept. 15, 1938.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
8. A Strange and Violent Fall
1. The story of the Russell case is taken almost entirely from newspaper accounts and a few remaining court documents. There was no appeal and therefore no surviving transcript of the trial.
2. “Cobb Pensioner, Daughter Are Slain,” Marietta Daily Journal, Oct. 17, 1938.
3. Ibid.
4. “Confession of Darkie Last Night,” Marietta Daily Journal, Oct. 18, 1938.
5. J. H. Hawkins to Downing Musgrove, Oct. 21, 1938, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Clemency, 1938.
6. “A Ray of Hope in Smyrna,” Atlanta Daily World, Oct. 20, 1938.
7. “Age of Smyrna Mob Members Disturbing,” Atlanta Daily World, Oct. 20, 1938.
8. “County Jury Accuses Negro of Clubbings,” Marietta Daily Journal, Oct. 20, 1938.
9. “Probers Return Charges Against Negro,” Marietta Daily Journal, Nov. 8, 1938.
10. “Negro to Die for Smyrnans’ Death,” Marietta Daily Journal, Nov. 14, 1938.
11. Ibid.
12. The author’s observation on a visit to Jackson in 2012.
13. U.S Census, 1940.
14. Descriptions of life in Jackson are all from the Jackson Progress Argus newspaper in the fall of 1938.
15. “Directions for Patients with Bad Blood,” Georgia Department of Public Heath, Georgia Archives, 26-2-3 DPH Governor, June–Dec. 1939.
16. “Rivers Call for Completion of New Deal,” Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 12, 1939.
17. “Police Chief Thornton Slain,” Jackson Progress Argus, Oct. 27, 1938.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. “Thornton Slayers to Be Executed Dec. 9,” Jackson Progress Argus, Nov. 10, 1938.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. “Lucius Adkins Found Guilty and Sentenced to Prison,” Jackson Progress Argus, Nov. 17, 1938.
24. Ibid.
25. “Grand Jury Commends Officers for Actions in Ending Reign of Terror,” Jackson Progress Argus, Nov. 10, 1938.
9. Eighty-one Minutes
1. “Six Die in Chair Today,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 9, 1938.
2. J. W. Dennard to E. D. Rivers, Dec. 7, 1938, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Clemency, 1938.
3. Ruth Perry to Thurgood Marshall, Nov. 11, 1938, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur.
4. Thurgood Marshall to George P. Munroe, Dec. 6, 1938, ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Thurgood Marshall to Ruth Perry, Dec. 6, 1938, ibid.
7. Letter from Thurgood Marshall to George P. Munroe, Dec. 6, 1938: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Records, Library of Congress, 1842–1999, Part 1: Legal File, 1910–1941, Perry, Oscar, and Mack, Arthur
8. “Condemned Man Accuses Another of Killing Herd,” Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 6, 1938.
9. Downing Musgrove to R. H. Herd, Nov. 23, 1938.
10. Telegram from J. H. Hawkins to E. D. Rivers, Dec. 7, 1938, ibid.
11. Tom Dickerson to Fitzgerald Herald, Dec. 8, 1938, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Clemency, 1939.
12. Affadavit from Jesse Taylor, Oct. 19, 1938, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941—Gov. E. D. Rivers—Clemency, 1938.
13. Tina Mae Dickerson to E. D. Rivers, Nov. 30, 1938, ibid.
14. Downing Musgrove to Tina Mae Dickerson, Dec. 5, 1938, ibid.
15. Notation at the end of transcript of telephone conversation between Sheriff Griner and Marvin Griffin, Dec. 9, 1938, ibid.
16. Transcript of telephone conversation between Sheriff Griner and Marvin Griffin, Dec. 9, 1938, ibid.
17. Transcript of telephone conversation between Allan Garden and Marvin Griffin, Dec. 9, 1938, ibid.
18. Commutation order, Jan. 4, 1939, Georgia Archives, RCB 9002: 1937–1941, Gov. E. D. Rivers, Clemency, 1939.
19. Dickerson was released from prison on Sept. 30, 1949.
20. “It’s Monkey Business, but Susie’s Free,” Atlanta Constitution, April 4, 1939.