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Extreme Racial Hostility in Walton County, GA: 1946 The Story Begins Near Monroe, GA in July, 1946 7 / 14 / 1946 African Barnett VOTING: American Eugene Ku Klux Hester African Soldiers Talmadge Klan Stabbed by Americans Returning Re-Elected Activity Roger Intimidated from WWII Malcolm 3
Roger Malcolm Bailed Out by Loy Harrison: 7/25/2019 • After 11 days in jail, Roger Malcolm was bailed out of Walton County Jail by local farmer J. Loy Harrison • Although Harrison employed several African-American farmhands, he was known to be brutal in his treatment of blacks. 4
The Lynching at Moore’s Ford Bridge: 7/25/2019 • Loy Harrison drove Roger & Dorothy Malcolm and their friends George & Mae Murray Dorsey back to his farm – but he did not take the direct route home … instead he took the road leading to the desolate Moore’s Ford Bridge over the Appalachee River. • Just before the bridge, Harrison’s car was ambushed by a mob of 25 – 50 unmasked white men. • The mob dragged the two black men out of Harrison’s car and hauled them off into the underbrush by the river bank • When Dorothy Malcolm called out the name of someone in the mob, they grabbed her and Mae Murray Dorsey and led them away with their husbands. • The two young couples were shot more than 60 times, shredding their flesh and cracking their skulls. 5
The Victims: Two African-American Couples: 7/25/2019 • Roger Malcolm was a farm laborer who worked for the Hester family in Walton County. He was tall, thin and had bad feet – part of the reason he was ineligible for the armed services. • At the time of his death, he was the common-law husband of Dorothy Malcolm . His stabbing of Barnett Hester during an argument on the Hester farm is regarded as one of the primary causes of the lynching. • Dorothy Malcolm was also known as Doris or Millie Kate, the common-law wife of Roger Malcolm. She was a laborer who also worked in the homes of white farmers. • George W. Dorsey was Dorothy Malcolm’s brother. He was a field hand and worked on the farms of local property owners. A World War II Army veteran, he was discharged in September, 1945. • He was a private first class in an engineer battalion and received the American Defense Medal, Asiatic Pacific Medal and a good conduct medal. • Mae Murray Dorsey was the common-law wife of George Dorsey and worked as a field hand and domestic. 6
National Outrage • The White House, Justice Dept. and FBI were flooded with more than 30,000 angry letters, telegrams demanding the immediate arrest of the lynch mob • President Truman sent the FBI to Atlanta • Within 39 hours, 20 FBI agents arrived in Monroe, but they were looked upon as interlopers by Monroe residents • By Aug. 1st, the reward for capture of killers totals $ 32,000 7
A “Great Wall of Silence” Goes Up in Walton County, GA • The crime scene had never been secured; FBI agents arrived within 39 hours but by then hundreds of people had trampled through the crime scene, some looking for bullets as “souvenirs.” • FBI agents interviewed Monroe residents but received little or no cooperation: there was a “ great wall of silence ” – some residents were to afraid to talk while others may have been involved with the cover-up. • The GBI was understaffed with few resources and very little manpower – so they deferred to the FBI. 8
FBI & GBI Investigations • The FBI had several problems as it got involved with the case: ❑ the lead agent botched the job and had to be re- assigned; ❑ there was a huge jurisdictional issue: murder is a state crime, not a federal crime; and ❑ FBI agents were seen by the townspeople as interlopers and were repeatedly stonewalled when attempting to interview residents. • After all initial investigative work, the FBI ended up with about 150 suspects including roughly 2 dozen main suspects. • The Attorney General suggested they convene a grand jury (Hoover agreed) in Athens, GA. 9
Grand Jury, Athens, GA: Dec. 2 - 18, 1946 • A grand jury was convened in Athens, GA, beginning on December 2 and continuing to December 18, 1946. • PROBLEM: • Witness testimony: No one knows what was actually stated in the grand jury room: Why? • Because of FRCP Rule 6(e), enacted into law earlier that same year: Grand Jury transcripts are confidential and carry rigorous legal protections to ensure their privacy • Total number of indictments returned: 1 (for perjury; later dismissed) FBI Follow-Up • There were sporadic probes from the 1940s well into the 1990s • None turned up suspects that could be prosecuted • 10 The FBI officially closed its investigations in January, 2018; the GBI also closed their case.
Meet Anthony S. Pitch, Historian & Author • Pitch was a best-selling author & historian with several books that made the New York Times best seller list. • Around the year 2010, he was searching historical accounts in order to write about lynchings in the South. • Then he found the 1946 Moore’s Ford Lynching from Walton County, Georgia. The case intrigued him: a 64-year- old mass murder that was still unsolved! • He sought and obtained thousands of documents from the FBI & the National Archives (NARA). • He also spent time in Walton County, GA to see the annual re-enactment of the lynching and visited homes & churches of the descendants of both victims and suspects. 11
Anthony Pitch’s Problem: A Huge Legal Challenge • Although Pitch is a brilliant historian & author, he’s not an attorney. • The only way he was going to get the truth about Moore’s Ford was to see the original 1946 grand jury transcripts. • But the sanctity of grand jury secrecy made that unlikely. • Only a handful of cases exist where courts have granted access to grand jury records (President Richard M. Nixon, Rule 6(e) Alger Hiss, Ethel & Julius Rosenberg, Jimmy Hoffa, etc.). • Pitch knew he would need to engage the legal services of an expert attorney, one who was familiar with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure – and especially Rule 6(e) that governs exceptions to the rule of grand jury secrecy. • The fundamental challenge for the court would be to balance the need for grand jury secrecy vs. “valid” historical exceptions resting on a court’s inherent authority to discern the difference. 12
The Legal Battle Begins: Pitch Meets Joe Bell • While researching his new book on the Moore’s Ford Lynching, Pitch met Joe Bell in Washington, D. C. during one of Pitch’s “Lincoln Assassination Tours.” • They become friends and formed a de facto team to hammer out a legal strategy in order to gain access to the 1946 grand jury records. • Problem: Bell was not a member of the GA Bar; so he earned “pro hac vice” status in order to argue the case in GA courts • The first attempt to get the Middle District Court to grant access was denied: the District Court judge held that “there aren’t any transcripts;” however Bell was allowed to re -file if the transcripts were ever located. • Pitch (through a friend) located the missing grand jury records at the National Archives (the boxes had been mis-marked) • Joe Bell re-filed the motion to Judge Marc Treadwell (Middle District Court, GA) in June, 2017. 13
First Victory: U. S. District Court, Aug. 18, 2017 • Bell won a decision from District Court Judge Marc T. Treadwell (Aug. 18, 2017) – which gave Anthony Pitch permission to view the grand jury materials (absent any appeal from the Government). • However, the Government did file an appeal on Treadwell’s decision in January, 2018 • The result was that the case was moved to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta (Oct. 3, 2018) August 18, 2017, Macon, GA 14
11 th Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Oral Arguments • Bell presented his argument before a 3-judge panel on behalf of Anthony Pitch on October 3, 2018 . • Brad Hinshelwood, attorney for the government, presented the government’s case to the panel. • Hinshelwood argued that the need for continued secrecy supersedes historical significance; he also claimed that Rule 6(e) , as written, does not give the district court the inherent authority to grant access to grand jury testimony. • Bell argued that the Moore’s Ford case is a very high profile and “historically significant” unsolved case and is in conformance with previously settled cases not only in the 11 th Circuit but in the 2 nd and 7 th Circuits (also based on exceptional historical significance ). • Atanya-Lynette Hayes was in attendance (the granddaughter of victim Roger Malcolm) to hear the oral arguments. 15
11 th Second Victory: Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • Bell’s argument of “historical significance” prevails, 2 -1 on 3-judge panel ( Feb. 11 th , 2019 ); dissenting opinion states there may still be people alive who might suffer reputational damage due to the acts of their ancestors • Government – again – has the right to appeal the 11 th Circuit’s decision (within 45 days) • If the Government appeals, then one of several things can happen: ❑ The Government may request an “ en banc” hearing (i.e., in front of a full panel of 11th Circuit judges to re-hear the case) – or: ❑ The case may be heard before the United States Supreme Court sometime in 2020 16
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