-
Title
-
Ex-Deputy Cleared In Civil Rights Case
-
Source Type
-
Newspapers
-
Author
-
Travis Wolfe
-
Publisher
-
The Montgomery Advertiser
-
Publication Place
-
Montgomery, AL
-
Publication Date
-
04/13/1967
-
Transcript
-
Ex-Deputy Cleared In Civil Rights Case By TRAVIS WOLFE, Advertiser Staff Writer, Harvey King Conner, 57, former deputy sheriff of Elmore, County, was acquitted Wednesday of a U.S. Justice Dept., charge that he deprived James, Earl Motley, 27, of the Negro's, civil rights last Nov. 20., Motley died of brain injuries, shortly after he was placed in, an Elmore County Jail cell at, Wetumpka., The U.S. District Court jury, of 11 white men and a Negro, man deliberated almost two hours before returning the not-guilty verdict. The verdict was, given to the court by juror M., R. Thomason, a Montgomery, contractor., In his instructions to the jury,, Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr., said that Conner was not being, tried for the murder of Motley,, but for depriving him under, color of law (as a law-enforcement officer) of the Negro's, rights by impoving summary, (premature, without trial punishment., Conner admitted in court that, he struck Motley several times, with a slapjack (a hand weapon) during an arrest on U.S., 231 near Wetumpka last November. He said the Negro, grabbed his shirt., Motley died after he was, charged with highway drunken-, ness, resisting arrest and interfering with an officer (Conner), who was making an arrest., Conner was represented in court by attorneys Glen Curlee, and George Howard of Wetumpka and Robert Alton of Montgomery. The government's prosecutors were Frank Dunbar of, Arlington, Va., and Ben Hardeman and J. 0. Sentell of Montgomery., Two days of testimony indicated that there was disagreement over whether Motley died, of injuries caused by blows, from Conner or by two falls at, the jail., An Elmore County coroner's, report said death resulted from, a fall on a sharp fence gate at, the back of the jail and a fall, from a jail cell bunk., State toxicologist Guy Purnell, of Auburn said two skull punctures on the right side of Motley's head caused death. On the, stand, Purnell said he doubted, that blows from the slapjack, if, applied on the flat side, caused, the lacerations. He said Motley, (Please See EX-DEPUTY, P. 2) Ex-Deputy, (Continued From Page 1), could have received one of the, wounds if he fell or a fence but, he doubted whether the fall, would have caused both injuries. And Dr. C. J. Raley of, Auburn, director of the state, department of toxicology, said, a fall from a jail bunk is not, likely to cause deep lacerations, such as those found on Motley's head., Of the injuries found on Motley's body, Purnell said, only, the lacerations would have bled., And other witnesses, including, Conner himself, said Motley's, head was bleeding before he arrived at the jail., Purnell also said an examination of the body showed that, Motley's skull was thinner than, the adult skulls he had been accustomed to seeing., Eyewitnesses presented varied accounts of where, when or, how the blows were struck, of, the location of automobiles and, persons at the scene of the arrest and of the events that occurred at the jail., Conner is a tall, large man, who, according to character, witnesses, had a reputation for, "quiet, peaceful" arrests., The Justice Dept. contended, that Conner "did willfully, strike, beat and injure" Motley, "with the intent and purpose of, imposing summary punishment, upon him.", Judge Johnson told the jury, "wilfully" implies "a determination to act with an evil intent."
