Willie Peterson

Willie Peterson (born 1896 - died 1940) was a World War I veteran, former miner, and tuberculosis sufferer accused by Nell Williams of attacking her, her sister and a friend as they drove down the Leeds Highway on the afternoon of Sunday, August 4, 1931.

Nell, the only girl who survived the attack, told authorities that a stout, light-skinned, well-educated black man from the North jumped onto the running board of their car and forced her to pull onto a side road in the woods. She said that he took their money and held them captive in the woods of Shades Mountain, lecturing them on racial injustice. When he started to "get fresh", they attempted to escape. Augusta and Wood were fatally shot, while Nell took a bullet in the arm. The suspect fled and she drove the car one-handed back to Mountain Brook for help.

Jennie Wood also described the suspect before she died, but her description conflicted with Nell's. Dozens of Blacks were taken in custody in Birmingham and even across the country. Nell was unable to identify the assailant from any of the suspects, but identified Peterson, a thin, dark-skinned Southern laborer as the culprit when she saw him walking on the street weeks later.

When he was identified, Peterson was in the later stages of tuberculosis, under the care of a physician and seeking admittance to a government hospital. Serious doubts were raised about the likelihood that Peterson was involved. His wife, Henrietta, contracted first with the International Labor Defense, and then with the NAACP to support her husbands defense, which was argued by attorneys Roach and Johnson.

Saying that they hoped to avoid the ordeal of a trial, members of the Williams family requested to meet with Peterson. Dent Williams, Nell's brother, pulled out a pistol and shot him three times. Peterson recovered and Williams was acquitted of attempted murder. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. In the second trial, the prosecution avoided the meager evidence and instead characterized Peterson as part of a more general threat. Even the revelation that a key prosecution witness was paid to lie using a false name did not prevent the decision to convict. Peterson was sentenced to death. Some of the jury later said they voted to convict in fear of reprisal from the Ku Klux Klan. In 1934 Peterson's sentence was commuted by governor Benjamin M. Miller. He died in Kilby Prison of tuberculosis in 1940.

References

• Jones, Pam. (Winter 2006) "Alabama Mysteries: Williams/Wood Murders". Alabama Heritage
• Kelley, Robin D. G. (1990) "In the Heart of the Trouble: Race, Sex, and the ILD." Ch. 4 of Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. Chapel Hill, NC: UNiversity of North Carolina Press. pp. 78-92. ISBN 0807819212