Judge James Edwin Horton
ATHENS-An Athens judge who received death threats and still stood for justice will be honored in his hometown 83 years after he made a controversial decision to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict and death sentence.
Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks has proclaimed June 22 as Judge Horton Day in Athens. On that date in 1933, Judge James Edwin Horton overturned the guilty verdict and death sentence for Haywood Patterson, one of nine defendants in the Scottsboro Boys case. Two white women falsely accused the nine black men of raping them on a train that arrived in Alabama. The original trials were in Scottsboro.
In 1933, Judge Horton, a former state legislator, was living in Athens at the current location of Athens City Hall when he presided over the second trial of Haywood Patterson in Decatur. He allowed the media inside the courtroom, including black reporters. He advised would-be lynching mobs that he had “absolutely no patience with the mob spirit.”
Judge Horton began to doubt the validity of the rape charges after hearing medical testimony and contradictory witness statements. He told the jury, “You are not trying whether or not the defendant is white or black. You are not trying that question; you are trying whether or not this defendant forcibly ravished a woman. You are not trying lawyers, you are not trying state lines; but you are here at home as jurors, a jury of your citizens under oath sitting in the jury box taking the evidence and considering it, leaving out any outside influences.”
The jury returned with a guilty verdict and death sentence, but Judge Horton surprised the prosecution and defense when he convened court in Athens on June 22 and overturned the jury. During the trial and after, Judge Horton received letters from around the world in support of the Scottsboro Boys and against them. Some letters included death threats. The family kept some of the letters in a lard bucket, where they reside today.
“The city is long overdue in recognizing Judge Horton’s commitment to fairness and justice,” Marks said. “He risked his political career to make the right decision.”
Judge Horton sought re-election in 1934 and lost. He retired from politics and moved his Athens home to a farm in Greenbrier in 1939. The family gave the land to the City of Athens for public use, which is where Athens City Hall is located.
On Wednesday, June 22, at 2 p.m. there will be a program called “Pen Strokes of Justice” at the Athens State University Center for Lifelong Learning in downtown Athens. The Judge Horton Monument Committee is hosting the program. Rebekah Davis, archivist for Limestone County, is selecting letters Judge Horton received and finding descendants of those letters or those with a connection to the letters such as through occupation to read them at the program. The Horton family also plans to participate.
There will be light snacks, including chocolate, which was Judge Horton’s favorite food. The event is free, but the Judge Horton Monument Committee will be accepting donations for a life size bronze statue of Judge Horton and installation of the statue at the Limestone County Courthouse. The project has received support from around the country and from various groups such as lawyers, Hispanic businesses, farmers, banks and restaurants. Jimmy DeVaney donated on behalf of DeVaney Brothers Farms.
“It took a lot of guts to do what Judge Horton did, especially considering how it was back then,” DeVaney said. “I appreciate the opportunity to work his farm and contribute to the statue.”
For more information about the project, go online at http://hortonmonument.com or look up Judge James Horton Monument Project on Facebook.
Judge Horton Day Proclamation 2016
Whereas, Judge James Edwin Horton served Athens, Limestone County and the State of Alabama as a lawyer, state legislator, and Circuit Court judge, and;
Whereas, in 1933, Judge Horton was living in Athens at the current location of Athens City Hall when he presided over the second trial of Haywood Patterson, one of nine Scottsboro Boys defendants falsely accused of rape by two white women, and;
Whereas, Judge Horton received letters from around the world of both a supportive and threatening nature during and after the trial, maintained the courage to promote fairness in the courtroom, and admonished would-be lynching mobs that he had “absolutely no patience with the mob spirit,” and;
Whereas, Judge Horton meticulously listened to medical testimony and contradictory witness statements and advised the jury, “You are not trying whether or not the defendant is white or black. You are not trying that question; you are trying whether or not this defendant forcibly ravished a woman. You are not trying lawyers, you are not trying state lines; but you are here at home as jurors, a jury of your citizens under oath sitting in the jury box taking the evidence and considering it, leaving out any outside influences,” and;
Whereas, Judge Horton valued justice more than his political career and on June 22, 1933, overturned the jury’s guilty verdict and death sentence of Mr. Patterson, and;
Whereas, Judge Horton lost his re-election bid to the bench in 1934 and retired from politics, and;
Whereas, when the Horton family moved the Maclin-Hobbs-Horton home from Athens to Greenbrier in 1939 they gifted the City of Athens the land at the corner of Hobbs and Marion streets for public use, which is where Athens City Hall is located, and;
Whereas, Judge Horton lived by a phrase often repeated in his family, “Let justice be done though the heavens may fall,”;
Now therefore I, William R. “Ronnie” Marks, Mayor of Athens, do hereby declare June 22 as Judge Horton Day to honor the courageous decision Judge Horton made 83 years ago on this date. I urge our citizens to learn more about Judge Horton’s involvement with the Scottsboro Boys case and to support efforts by the Judge Horton Monument Committee to raise funds for a life size bronze statue of him that will be erected at the Limestone County Courthouse.
Media Release/Amy Golden
