The Last Public Execution in America
by Perry T. Ryan
CHAPTER 13
COUNSEL'S PREPARATION FOR TRIAL
It would be a mistake to believe that Bethea's attorneys did not
care what happened to him. It is true that they were not paid for
their services to an indigent client, since this was considered their
duty--somewhat a return to the state for the privilege of practicing
law. Nonetheless, they understood the seriousness of the charge and
the impending irrevocable nature of the penalty likely to be imposed.
Before the trial, William W. "Bill" Kirtley and William Wilson, at
their own expense, drove to the Jefferson County Jail to interview
Bethea, in an attempt to fashion a defense, but their client
ultimately proved to be uncooperative. Bethea told Kirtley that he
had signed one confession because he was threatened with a black jack
and another confession because he was "doped." Bethea insisted on
pleading not guilty at trial, but the various inconsistencies in his
version of the facts produced frustration for the lawyers.
Kirtley decided to move the court for a change of venue, which
meant that he wanted the trial to be conducted in another county. To
support a motion for a change of venue, the attorneys were required
to present affidavits signed by two people who were willing to state
that the defendant could not obtain a fair trial due to excessive
publicity. Two people were located who signed affidavits, but the two
later tore up their statements, leaving counsel for the defense with
nothing upon which to base their motion.
Bethea was not helpful to his attorneys. He gave them very little
to work with. William Wilson recalled that the attorneys combed the
black neighborhoods of Owensboro but could not locate the witnesses
whom Bethea had given. "We couldn't find anybody in town hardly who
knew him. People just would not testify. Well, there was nothing they
could testify about," he said. Bethea had told his attorneys that
Clyde Maddox would provide an alibi, but when the attorneys
interviewed Maddox, he denied that he even knew Bethea.
On June 23, 1936, Bethea's attorneys requested the clerk of the
Daviess Circuit Court to issue a subpoena for four witnesses
including Ladd Moorman, who lived on Tenth Street near the Iron
Foundry; Clyde Maddox, who lived on Alexander Alley between Sixth and
Seventh Streets of Triplett; Willie Johnson, who remained lodged in
the county jail after Bethea had implicated him; and Allen McDaniel,
whom Bethea said lived on Clay Street between Second and Third
Streets. The subpoena was served on each of the first three
witnesses, but Deputy Sheriff Richard McDaniel noted on the
subpoena's return that the fourth witness, Allen McDaniel, could not
be found. The deputy noted there was "no such man."
The prosecution wasted no time in subpoenaing its witnesses. On
June 22, 1936, the prosecution subpoenaed eighteen witnesses in the
Owensboro area, including Dr. G. L. Barr, Coroner Delbert Glenn, Tom
Smith, Robert Richards, Officers Raleigh Bristow, Lawrence I.
Dishman, Albert C. Reisz, William Vogel, William Vollman, R. P.
Thornberry, Frate Austin, and Dale Hicks; Birdie Gasser of the local
newspaper; Robert Rutherford; George Steitler, a local jeweler; Laura
Anderson Smith; and Jack Long.
On June 23, 1936, four witnesses from Louisville were ordered to
appear for the trial in Daviess County, including Robert M. Morton,
the attorney who witnessed Bethea's signed confession; J. R. Murphy
and Wallace E. Crady, both guards at the Jefferson County Jail; and
George Koper, a reporter for the Courier-Journal.
On June 24, Martin J. Connors, Jefferson County Jailer, and E. R.
Workman were ordered to appear on behalf of the prosecution.
Also on June 24, local residents Will Faith and Red Figgins were
ordered to appear at the trial.
Apparently an oversight, Emmett Wells was not subpoenaed until
June 25, 1936, the morning of the trial. The subpoena ordered him to
appear "forthwith," and Virginia L. Smith, a deputy sheriff, read the
subpoena to him early in the morning just before the trial.
On the morning of the trial, Bethea told his attorneys that he
wanted to plead guilty to the charge of rape. In a courthouse witness
room, seated in a chair near a window in the northeast corner of the
building, he told William Wilson, "All I want is time to make peace
with my maker." Although Bethea's counsel had prepared affidavits for
a change of venue, a procedure which would have moved the trial to
another county due to pretrial publicity, these affidavits were
destroyed once Bethea announced that he would plead guilty.