Sheriff Convicted; No Appointment Yet to Fill Office News Clipping

    Volume 88, No. l 
22 pages in 2 sections 

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LOCAL 
EDITION 

Roanoke, Ala_bama 36274 ~r9n~ay,·: Septemb~r 19, 1979 151 per copy 
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app~antme~t Sheriff convicted; no 
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yet to fill office 
With the conviction of Sheriff Charlie 

Will Thompson for vote buying in the 
September runoff election last year, 
who will serve the remainder of his 
term? 

Already a number of names are 
circulating throughout the county. One 
of them may be the rrian. Gov. Fob 
James, who will make his choice known 
through his appointing officer, is 
receiving reports from the candida~s 

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and their friends. of the Thompsons to their new home, 'May Is one of the candidates being 

Dr . . Gerald Everett, Roanoke two miles northeast of Wedowee. · COnsidered. He has the endorsement of 
Tire Store, Roanoke; Buford Bishop, - Leon Foster. James HJll, and 
state trooper; Gerald Perry. manager Quinton Wortham- testified ns to the 
of Perry's poultry farm and former character of one of the prosecution's 
candidate for sheriff; I. B. Moore, witnesses, am Braswell. All said his 
former Roanoke chief of police and reputation for telling the trutl1 was bad 
chief or detectives, Montgomery; and they would not believe him under 
Deroy . Butler, merclumt from the oath. 

physician, Is sheriff by law, because he .. Since Thompson was first elected Ule .. County . Democratic Executive 
is coun~y coroner, but Dr. Everett has sheriff, 17 years ago, the Tilompsons .CqrrunlUee and the tacit approval of tl1e · 
named Chief Deputy Fred May as have lived in the jailer's house, next to cdunty corrunissioners, who Monday, 
acting sheriff. · ,the jail; . and Mrs. Thompson _ has .. -~er Judge Stell Benefield's nudging , 

With Thompson also went Deputy prepared the prisoners' meals-three said they had no opposition . to his 
Curtis Morrow, convicted on one count times a day-first for the state-aUowed ap'pointment. 
in U1e same case, leaving the 60 cents per prisoner per day, and now Other names being talked about are 
department two men short. Another for $1.75. May had made other Larry Colley, county conservation 
bind put on the county was the moving arrangements. 'officer; Ronnie Irvin, partner in OK 

northeastern part of the county; Floyd Testifying for the defense were 
Fetner, present Roanoke chief of Circuit Judge James Avary, State 
police, and Ronnie Young, Wedowee Representative Richard Laird, Mrs. 
businessman. Sue Fincher, Mrs. Mae Dobson, 

According to Judge Benefield the Coroner Dr. Gerald Everett, Don 1 appointee, whoever he is, will, by state Edward Cooley, William Yarbrough, 
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1 law, serve the remainder of the term, Buster Hudgins, Doyle Foster, Wood-

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, more than three years. The law, be row Crews, Herman Landers, and Sam 
says, reads that a new sheriff will be Carpenter . 

. elected in the next general election in Throughout the day Wednesday, 
1 which the sheri[f is on the ballot. It does Judge Varner. read reports of the 
1,. · not allow for a . special election. progress of Hurricane Frederic, 

. The trial, when it began in the federal showing increased concern as the I courtroom, in Montgomery Monday of . reports worsened. His chief worry was 

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i last week, had . only four defenders: ·that the jury would be out overlong, and 

Th?mpsonj Morrow, Louis McCain, a would be trappt.>d in Montgomery 
retired farmer and sawmiller who lives overnight by the storm, away from 

. no~ of Wedowee, Rnd Roy Davenport, their families. 
I a cnppled veteran fl·om near Wedowee, On the witn.ess stand Thompson, 
l the_ only '-1lack man.. . refuting Braswell's testimony that 
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· . S1xteen were ongmally indicted, Thompson haci offert:d him money in a 
etght accused with ~hompson for white envelope, said Braswell had 

1 work~ng for his reelectiOn, seven for telephoned him (Mrs. Thompson 
I workmg for the election of the late Bill earlier had said Braswell called the 
I Elliott of Wadley, and one for voting hous~-~V~.!_~_l t.i!Jle~-~~'~ccn Sept.. 5 
.t-~~~~ once. ___ · - --- - -----w,J u1~ ,a,u1 l Ute w.r~e oeLWeetl tne 

~ .. eu.rstcounl~aoneofconsptracy, · •-- b hadtalk d ' th planning to buy votes b m d prunaries ...,.t year ut e W1 
whiskey. Y oney an the she_riff only one time) .. and had 

In all, the prosecution, led by Barry · as~ed him for 3,200 to buy a bu~ch ?f 
Teague, U.S. attorney of the Midille whiskey an~. a ~~ch of beer. ~ 
District call 'd app 0 · t 1 60 answer was defJrutely no - that was 

• , • t: . r xtma e y out'" . 
wttnesses, usmg little more than half in · . 
t he first two days. He srud that between Sept. 5 ~d 26 he 

Most of the witnesses for the defense; had never offered m?ney or wruskey to 
handled by Tom Radney of Alexander anyone to vote for hun, nor did he get 
City and Lewis Hamner of Roanoke, anyone else to. . . . 
testified as to character, of Thompson The most :ellmg testimony . aga~nst 
and the ot.her three. Thompson came from Robe1i { Jun1o~) 

Th ·tn lied b th d f Brown, who had worked for his 
ree wt esses ca Y e e ense reelection and then decided to plead 

. guilty. 
Under Radney's questioning, Thom­

pson said he had once given blood to 
Brown's wife, that it was a rare type, 
and that he had helpW Brown with a 
ticket he had got from a trooper, who 
had cited his wife when she was 
teaching their son to drive. 

Thompson said he had given Brown 
perhap$:''$SOO to give oLhet' people for 
expens(; money, and also two cases of 
"store bought" beer. As for the two 
days,. Sept 5 and Sept. 26, he said he 
had spent most of the time in his office. 

Under Teague 's questioning, Thomp­
son listed his campaign e~enses as 
adve rtising, candidate cards, a 
qualifying fee of $-100, automobile costs, 
and, with a smile, bubble gum - for tile 
children, he explained. 

When Thompson said he had given 
Brown beer for a party, Teague asked 
him if he knew Brown had not taken a 
drink in a decade. 

Thompson told Radney he never 
drank, that he had given much of the 
confiscated whiskey to hospitals, 
always by request. 
· Back to the money Thompson had 
given Brown - Teague saying it was 
$1,000 and Radney saying it was $5ql 
and possibly $600 -Teague asked why 
it was not listed as a campaign expense. 
Radney said Thompson did not know he 
was supposed to report il . 

Judge Varner, reporting state law 
said candidates were supposed to giv; 
itemized accounts of all expenditures. 

In their final argwnents to the jury, 
the attorneys made these appeals: 

Hamner - The prosecution has 
attempted to make a m ountain out of a 
mole hill. A man who has been elected 
sh.!riff of Randolph CoWJty for five 
times must have done something right. 

Radney - Pointing to a blackboard 
he read what lie had earlier written: 
" Charlie Will Thompson - This is Your 
life." Turning to the jury he said, if you 
find this man guilty of one count, you 
may as well find him guilty of ail, for 
one will throw him out of office and 
make hio a convicted felon. 

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Teague - He accused the defense of 
attempting to play on the sympathy of 
the jury, of dealing in conjecture and 
not facts, of throwing up smoke 
sc~eeru:; The facts, he said, proved 
guilty beyond a reasonable doubLll 
The jury, he cautioned, must act as tne 
conscience of the community. 

' The jury went out at 3:04. By 4:56 it 
' had reached. unanimous verdict on 

some of the counts. At 5:07 it turned 
over its decisons to Judge Varner who 
advised the attorneys and their clients, 
then sealed them, and excused the jury 
until Friday at 9 a.m. · 

At 9:41 the jury returned with the rest 
of their decisions. It found Thompson 
guilty on seven counts, Morrow on one, 
and McCain on two. It foWJd Davenport 
not guilty. 

Judge Varner said he would 
pronounce the sentence later, giving 
the accused five days notice. He asked 
the defense not to barrage him with 
letters asking for sympathy, th.at it 
would put many people to much trouble 
and would do no gOOd. He gave no 
indication when he would reach a 
decision. 

If the case is appealed, and no 
decision has been reached, it probably 
will go before . Appeals J udge Frank 
Johnson.