The Trials and Sentencing of Bill Brown for the Murder of Constable James Foster at Rogersville, Alabama in 1895.

Subject

The Law, Crime and Punishment

Description

A Series of 1895 and 1896 Florence Gazette, Herald and Times, newspaper articles on the arrest, trial sentencing, conviction and appeal of Lauderdale County African-American resident Bill Brown for the midnight, Sunday, April 12, 1896 murder of Rogersville, Alabama Constable James Foster.

Foster and several other officers attempted to arrest Brown for stealing chickens however Brown was apparently waiting for them and, meeting them at the door, fired a shot which killed Foster.

Brown escaped but was captured near Shoal Creek Tuesday morning and incarcerated in the Lauderdale County jail. Dr. Arnold was called in to dress his wounds. Brown was described as:

"A young negro abut 22 years old and of slim build. His body, from his head to his waist, is thinly sprinkled with shot, and when brought here he was a miserable looking object indeed."

Fearing a possible lynching, Sheriff AD Casrson had Brown transferred to the Madison County jail in Huntsville where he remained before and after his trials.

He was indicted by a Lauderdale County grand jury which charged that he "unlawfully and with malice aforethought killed James Foster by shooting him with a gun."

Brown was defended by noted local attorneys the Hon. Henry C. Jones, John T. Ashcraft and Col. Cutler Smith. A jury found him guilty and sentenced Brown to be hung however he appealed his conviction to the Alabama Supreme Court, which in May of 1896 granted him a new trial. At his second trial in September of 1896 Brown was sentenced to life in prison.

Bill Brown was taken to the penitentiary in Birmingham in late September, 1896, where he died of tuberculosis in 1898, having only served two years of his life sentence.

Source

1. Florence Herald
2. Florence Gazette
3.4. Florence Times
5. Lauderdale County, Alabama Circuit Court Indictment Record, Vol. 2, p. 88.
6-7. Florence Herald
8-9. Florence Times
10.-12. Florence Herald
13. Alabama Convict Records, 1886-1956, p. 328.

Publisher

Newspapers.com
Lauderdale County, Alabama Circuit Court.
Bell and Howell Microfilm Labs.
Ancestry.com.

Contributor

Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

Jpeg

Language

English

Type

Still Images

Files

Killed the Constable FH Thu Apr 11 1895 p 2.jpg
Jim Foster Murdered by Bill Brown FG Thu Apr 11 1895 p 3.jpg
Killed I FT Sat Apr 13 1895 p 3.jpg
Killed II FT Sat Apr 13 1895 p 3.jpg
Bill Brown's Indictment Laud Co Cir Ct Indict Rec Vol 2 p 88.jpg
Bill Brown's Case FH Thu Dec 12 1895 p 1.jpg
Reversed the Verdict FH Thu May 7 1896 p 8.jpg
A Life Sentence FT Sat Sept 16 1896 p 3.jpg
Bill Brown's Case FT Satt Sept 19 1896 p 3.jpg
Today FH Thu Sep 24 1896 p 1.jpg
Sentenced to the Pen FH Thu Oct 1 1896 P 1.jpg
Sheriff Alonzo D Carson Escorts Bill Brown FH Thu Oct 1 1896 p 3.jpg
Bill Brown's Convict Record from Ancestry.com.jpg

Citation

“The Trials and Sentencing of Bill Brown for the Murder of Constable James Foster at Rogersville, Alabama in 1895.,” Shoals Black History, accessed April 18, 2024, https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/1085.