Murder in Coweta County
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The murder in Coweta County was an April 1948 act of murder committed in Meriwether and Coweta Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia and involving the sheriff of Meriwether County. The events were the subject of two acclaimed works, both titled Murder in Coweta County: a 1976 book by Margaret Anne Barnes and a 1983 television movie starring Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith.
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[edit] History
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John Wallace was a wealthy landowner in Meriwether County, Georgia, with virtually unlimited power in the county, including having the sheriff under his control. William Turner, a sharecropper tenant, attempted to do extra bootlegging work without Wallace's permission and was fired by Wallace. Turner retaliated by stealing two cows for compensation that Turner felt Wallace owed.
Turner was caught in another county and taken to the Meriwether County jail in Greenville,[1] but Wallace arranged for the sheriff to release Turner. John Wallace and three other men were waiting outside the jail, and when Turner said "Did you hear, Mr. Wallace? The sheriff released me on lack of evidence," Wallace replied with "No he didn't. You're escaping." Turner, then realizing that his release was a conspiracy, attempted to escape in his truck, with Wallace and his group in pursuit,[2] two men each in two cars.[1]
Turner's truck, drained of its fuel earlier, ran out of gas just past the county line at the Sunset Tourist camp in Moreland, Coweta County, Georgia. Multiple witnesses reported seeing Wallace pistol-whip Turner so hard that the gun discharged, then Turner going limp and being put in one of the cars.[1] The group then returned to Meriwether County, where Turner's body was first hidden on Wallace's property, then burnt to tiny fragments and discarded.
Because part of the act took place in Coweta County, the crime was also under the jurisdiction of the Coweta County sheriff, Lamar Potts. Potts' investigation uncovered the details of the murder and the remains of the body, and Potts secured the testimony of two black men who had helped dispose of the body. The case is noted for its conviction of a highly-placed white man on the testimony of black men.
John Wallace was convicted of the murder in State v. Wallace, 206 Ga. 561 (1) (57 S.E. 2d, 920). He was executed in the electric chair on 1950-11-02. The other three men were also convicted and sent to prison, but released in 1955.[1]
[edit] Book
Murder in Coweta County (original ISBN 0883490641; re-issued in 1983 and 2004) was a 1976 book by Margaret Anne Barnes, originally published by Simon & Schuster in 1977.
Though the book is generally considered accurate, Barnes' website has quoted the El Paso Times as calling it "the new fictionalized style of recording historic events".[3]
[edit] Film
Murder in Coweta County was a 1983 television movie written by Dennis Nemec based on Barnes' book. Andy Griffith played landowner John Wallace and Johnny Cash played Sheriff Lemar Potts of Coweta County.
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Jan Doolittle Page. "Murder Southern Style". Gone and Almost Forgotten Georgia. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ Whitling, Natasha (February 10, 2006). "murder in Coweta County: Johnny Cash played area minister’s father". Columbia Star. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ "Murder in Coweta" (2002-10-16). Retrieved on 2007-12-30. “Written with the suspense of a who-dun-it, Murder In Coweta County is the new fictionalized style of recording historic events. The combination makes exciting reading.”
