O. D. Henderson: Difference between revisions

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After arriving at the station, Henderson was bound to a chair in the city jail where Hagood and another officer, [[Thomas Nelson]], continued to beat him with their fists, a blackjack, a leather strop and a section of rubber hosepipe, ignoring pleas for mercy. Glenn, along with [[D. M. Flourney]] and Sergeant [[W. G. Cook]], witnessed the beating. Another officer, [[Ed Taylor]], heard it from an adjacent room. Officer Nelson then shot Henderson three times in the chest, killing him.
After arriving at the station, Henderson was bound to a chair in the city jail where Hagood and another officer, [[Thomas Nelson]], continued to beat him with their fists, a blackjack, a leather strop and a section of rubber hosepipe, ignoring pleas for mercy. Glenn, along with [[D. M. Flourney]] and Sergeant [[W. G. Cook]], witnessed the beating. Another officer, [[Ed Taylor]], heard it from an adjacent room. Officer Nelson then shot Henderson three times in the chest, killing him.


Henderson's body was taken to [[Lloyd Noland Hospital|TCI Hospital]] in Fairfield, where he was examined by the [[Jefferson County Coroner]]. The death by gunshot was ruled a homicide. Henderson's father claimed his body and buried him at the [[Oakdale Cemetery]] in [[Brighton]].
Henderson's body was taken to [[Lloyd Noland Hospital|TCI Hospital]], on the pretense that he had been killed in an auto accident. He was examined there by [[Bessemer Cutoff]] [[Jefferson County Coroner|coroner]] [[T. J. Collum]]. The death by gunshot was ruled a homicide. Henderson's brother, Clark, claimed his body and the family buried him at the [[Oakdale Cemetery]] in [[Brighton]].


Fairfield's police chief suspended Nelson for 30 days to conduct an investigation. At the urging of Methodist minister [[Ted Hightower]] the [[Fairfield City Council]] voted on a motion to dismiss all of the officers directly involved in Henderson's beating.
Fairfield's police chief suspended Nelson for 30 days to conduct an investigation. With the support of [[Mayor of Fairfield|Mayor]] [[Claude Gilley]] and at the vehement urging of Methodist minister [[Ted Hightower]] the [[Fairfield City Council]] deliberated whether to dismiss all three officers involved during a public meeting on [[May 23]]. Sergeant Cook testified that during his three years with the department, about 20 or 30 beatings of prisoners had taken place under similar circumstances. The motion to dismiss Cook and Glenn from the department failed on a 5-4 vote.  


<!--In the aftermath of the shooting, a local Methodist minister, Ted Hightower, urged the city council to hold a special meeting to discuss the shooting. Mayor Claude N. Gilley called for the officers to be dismissed from the force and Officer Nelson was suspended for thirty days pending an investigation.
Nelson was charged with manslaughter in the first degree. [[Arthur Shores]] and attorneys working for the [[NAACP]] participated in the prosecution. Nelson pleaded not guilty by reason of self-defense and was found not guilty at trial.  


The Fairfield City Council held a meeting to discuss whether all three officers should be dismissed from the police force. During the deliberations, Sergeant W.G. Cook testified that 20 or 30 beatings had taken place at the Fairfield police station in the three years he had been on the force. Despite the history of systemic violence that was exposed, the resolution to dismiss the officers was lost by one vote.-->
==References==
* [http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/wp-content/uploads/Hendersons-death-Cert.pdf Certificate of Death of O. D. Henderson] (May 9, 1940) Alabama Center for Health Statistics
* "[http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/wp-content/uploads/Handcuff-Murder-Pittsburgh-Courier-May-25-1940.pdf 'Handcuff Murder' Of Jailed Man Had Been 'Whitewashed']" (May 25, 1940) ''Pittsburgh Courier''
* "[http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/wp-content/uploads/See-Crushed-Body-Pittsburgh-Courier-May-25-1940.pdf See Crushed Body Of O'Dee Henderson]" (May 25, 1940) ''Pittsburgh Courier''


([http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/henderson/ report])
==External links==
* [http://nuweb9.neu.edu/civilrights/henderson/ O. D. Henderson] at the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) of the Northeastern University School of Law.
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, O. D.}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:TCI workers]]
[[Category:Murder victims]]

Revision as of 16:52, 12 October 2015

O. D. "O'Dee" Henderson (born April 16, 1915 in Clark County; died May 9, 1940 at Fairfield City Hall) was a "catcher" at Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad company's Fairfield Tin Mill, and the victim of homicide at the hands of the Fairfield Police Department.

Henderson was the son of Ben and Lillie (Wilson) Henderson of Clark County. The family later moved to 121 10th Street North in Birmingham. Early on the morning of May 9, 1940, O. D. Henderson bumped into a fellow TCI employee, M. M. Hagood in front of the mill office in Westfield. Hagood found Fairfield police officer W. T. Glenn nearby and reported that Henderson had knocked him to the ground. Glenn held Henderson at bay while Hagood exacted retribution by beating him, then took him into custody and drove him to City Hall in his squad car.

After arriving at the station, Henderson was bound to a chair in the city jail where Hagood and another officer, Thomas Nelson, continued to beat him with their fists, a blackjack, a leather strop and a section of rubber hosepipe, ignoring pleas for mercy. Glenn, along with D. M. Flourney and Sergeant W. G. Cook, witnessed the beating. Another officer, Ed Taylor, heard it from an adjacent room. Officer Nelson then shot Henderson three times in the chest, killing him.

Henderson's body was taken to TCI Hospital, on the pretense that he had been killed in an auto accident. He was examined there by Bessemer Cutoff coroner T. J. Collum. The death by gunshot was ruled a homicide. Henderson's brother, Clark, claimed his body and the family buried him at the Oakdale Cemetery in Brighton.

Fairfield's police chief suspended Nelson for 30 days to conduct an investigation. With the support of Mayor Claude Gilley and at the vehement urging of Methodist minister Ted Hightower the Fairfield City Council deliberated whether to dismiss all three officers involved during a public meeting on May 23. Sergeant Cook testified that during his three years with the department, about 20 or 30 beatings of prisoners had taken place under similar circumstances. The motion to dismiss Cook and Glenn from the department failed on a 5-4 vote.

Nelson was charged with manslaughter in the first degree. Arthur Shores and attorneys working for the NAACP participated in the prosecution. Nelson pleaded not guilty by reason of self-defense and was found not guilty at trial.

References

External links

  • O. D. Henderson at the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) of the Northeastern University School of Law.
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