The Demise of the Ashley Gang: A Modern Controversy The death of Florida’s Ashley Gang prompted a controversy that now commonly arises when an unarmed criminal is shot and killed by law enforcement. By Constance Briggs John Ashley (right) with Raiford Prison officials, circa 1916 (Photo courtesy of Sandra Mario Provence)
Background of Ashley Gang • Crimes in south FL from 1911 to 1924 allegedly included robberies, killings, rum-running, moonshining, and prison escapes • Members in and out of prison several times • Different gang members committed various crimes depending upon which members were in prison • Members consisted of family, friends, a Chicago mobster, and other secret masterminds (From Hix Stuart’s The Notorious Ashley Gang )
Background of John Ashley • John Ashley accused of killing DeSoto Tiger, a Seminole Native American, in December 1911 • Arrested but escaped • Robbed the Bank of Stuart, Florida, in 1915 – Shot in eye – Arrested • Murder trial – Verdict and sentencing: guilty and death by hanging – Nolle prossed in 1916 due to “lack of evidence” • Sentenced for robbery to 17-1/2 years in Raiford, the state penitentiary (never stood trial for robbery)
Demise of the Ashley Gang • Palm Beach County Sheriff Robert Baker was tipped off to the gang’s plans • Baker sent four deputies to St. Lucie County Sheriff James R. Palm Beach Co. Sheriff Robert Baker (Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida) Merritt to help capture the gang • A blockade was set up at the Sebastian River Bridge St. Lucie Co. Sheriff James R. Merritt (Photo courtesy of St. Lucie County Historical Museum)
Demise of the Ashley Gang — Official Story • Four members of the gang, in a Model T Ford touring car, stopped at the bridge at 10:45 p.m. on November 1, 1924 • Gang was surrounded by deputies and made to stand in road • Ashley made a move to grab a hidden gun • Deputies began firing and killed all four gang members • The official verdict of the coroner's jury inquest was “justifiable homicide” due to self defense in a “shootout” (Photo courtesy of Jim Pike from Steve Carr collection)
Controversy • Rumors circulated about law officers having searched and handcuffed the bandits before shooting them in “cold blood ” • Two young men who were witnesses at the shooting testified that the bandits were handcuffed • Local citizens outraged about officers acting as “judge, jury, and executioner” • A petition was circulated against the “…some of the jurymen officers who viewed the bodies – Petition signers were beaten by deputies immediately after the shooting…developed an – Petition disappeared animosity toward the • Verdict stood officers.” — The Palm Beach Post , Nov. 5, 1924
Confessions • Friends of deputies claimed the deputies confessed in secret • “Deathbed” confessions: – Ada Coates Williams’ book, Florida’s Ashley Gang (1996) – Alice Luckhardt’s book, O. B. Padgett, A Florida Son (2014) • Judge Alto Adams’ memoir, The Fourth Quarter (1976) O. B. Padgett (Photo from O. B. Padgett: – “…the coroner discharged the jury [and] Another A Florida Son by coroner’s jury was empanelled. This was done Alice L. Luckhardt) erroneously, I thought, because it was my opinion that the coroner’s jury itself could have discharged the coroner” (63). Former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court – “This is a little more than I have ever made Judge Alto Adams public on this case before, because I have felt that (Photo courtesy of State resurrecting this matter would do no one any Archives of Florida/Dughi) good” (63).
Implications and Discussion • This story is relevant to today’s world. • Considering that the Ashley Gang’s demise occurred almost 100 years ago, we see that the issue of police officers killing unarmed criminals has not gone away. • Some historians say that killing the handcuffed bandits did not matter, because they were a menace to society anyway. – But are we comfortable with someone else making this decision of who can be killed and who cannot be killed on site? – What about due process of law?
Conclusions • If a better system, or training, for arrest can be obtained so that suspects may proceed through the due process of law, then perhaps remembering these bandits’ deaths will not be in vain.
Using Historical Outlaw Topics for First-Year Writing Students • Semester-long research paper on a historic outlaw • Some interesting observations – Some facts parallel the Ashley Gang story (folk heroes, Robin Hood, ambush) – Every outlaw story has controversies and myths • Lessons learned – Don’t always believe what you read (newspapers, internet, etc.) • Use credible sources • Use scholarly sources – Respectfully disagree and discuss (students seemed more comfortable discussing their own opinions on historical incidents/controversies vs. recent events that are too recent and, therefore, hotly debated).
My Credentials for this Presentation Topic • My grandfather and John Ashley were first cousins • My family “breeds” police officers – My late father was a retired cop – My brother is a retired cop – My brother-in-law is a retired cop – My brother-in- law’s late father— who also was an old family friend — was a retired cop – My nephew is a K-9 cop
Works Cited Adams, Alto Lee . The Fourth Quarter. Judge Alto Adams, 1976 . “Ashley Gang Is Wiped Out.” The Tropical Sun , 7 Nov. 1924. “Coroner’s Jury in Ashley Case is Discharged.” The Palm Beach Post, 5 Nov. 1924, pp. 1-2. Hix, Stuart. The Notorious Ashley Gang . St. Lucie Press, 1928. Luckhardt, Alice L. O. B. Padgett: A Florida Son , lulu.com, 2014. “Say ‘Ring’ Holds St. Lucie Since Ashley’s Death.” The Palm Beach Post , 23 April 1925, pp. 1, 3. Sheriff Bob Baker of Palm Beach County - Florida. 1923. Black & white photonegative. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 8 Jun. 2018.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/144137>. Williams, Ada Coats. Florida’s Ashley Gang . Florida Classics Library, 1996.
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