He Calls Me by Lightning
Page 47
Clark’s confrontation with, 40–41
Clark’s pistol in possession of, 1, 41, 46, 47, 64, 69, 308
Clark’s pursuit of, 37–40
constitutional rights as denied to, 2–3, 79, 102–3, 116–17, 185, 186, 187, 194, 198, 228
death of, 354
and denial of bail after 1970 verdict, 324–25
dismissal of case against, 354–55
Drake’s meetings with, 287
in excessive-force lawsuit against Bessemer, 11
execution dates set for, 101, 147, 174
first-degree murder indictments of, 75, 76, 79, 139, 289, 335–36
first police interview of, 65–68
in flight from shooting scene, 43–44
as fugitive, 1–2, 3, 6, 45–49, 51, 57–62, 68
Galt’s friendship with, 274, 282–83, 326
Gurley’s friendship with, 237
as high school dropout, 5–6
in forma pauperis petition filed by, 270–71
Johnson and, 217
in Kilby Prison, 148, 149–50, 235
letter to Billingsley from, 276
letter to Johnson from, 275
letter to Jesus from, 325–26
ministry of, 352–53
in Mt. Meigs Medical confinement, 325–27, 331–32
1955 arrest of, 8–9
1965 re-arrest and return to Bessemer jail of, 203–4, 213, 215, 217, 226, 233, 267, 270–71, 274–75, 282, 285
1970 march and vigil in support of, 292
1970 testimony of, 318–22
in 1971 release from prison, 332–33
Parsons’ pistol-whipping of, 7–8, 13
police rampages in hunt for, 59–61, 316–17
as prime suspect in Clark shooting, xiii, 2, 45–46
in prison desegregation suit, 237, 238, 240
release from prison, 202
in return to Bessemer, 13
Salvation Club basketball team formed by, 353
self-defense plea of, 169
signed statement of, 66–68, 94–97, 117–18, 140–41, 145, 311–12
trials of, see State of Alabama v. Caliph Washington
Wallace’s denial of clemency to, 181
Warren’s supposed threat to, 145
West German posting of, 12–13
Washington, Caliph, appeals of, 186
in Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, 282, 327
in Alabama Supreme Court, see Caliph Washington v. State of Alabama
appeal of Ball’s habeas ruling in, 280, 283
bail application denied in, 226
Billingsley in, see Billingsley, Orzell, Jr.
black jury exclusion as issue in, 102–3, 330–31
Blanton in, see Blanton, Fred, Jr.
Cates’s opinion in, 329, 330–31
Coleman’s dissent in, 174, 193, 195, 198
cruel and unusual punishment issues in, 186, 187, 188–90, 196, 230, 281
CWCA and, 224
D. Clark’s brief in, 194–96
full court hearing of, 172
fundraisers for, 225
Gewin’s opinion in, 229–32
Grimes’s testimony as issue in, 118
Hood in, see Hood, David, Jr.
inadmissibility of testimony as issue in, 173–74, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196, 198, 227–28, 229, 230–32
inadmissibility of written statement as issue in, 103–4, 186, 187, 188, 190–92, 193, 228, 229–30
indigency issue in, 278, 279
Johnson in, see Johnson, Frank M., Jr.
Lawson’s opinion in, 115–18, 330
Livingston’s opinion in, 172, 173–74, 192–93
Montgomery in, 174
Morgan and, see Morgan, Charles, Jr. “Chuck”
NAACP and, 220–21, 225
1968 habeas hearing in, 277–79
1970 conviction overturned in, 330
1971 habeas writs in, 331–32
Oliver’s synopsis of, 222
Pickens and, 213, 275
right to counsel as issue in, 186, 187, 188, 190–92, 194, 196–98, 227–28, 229–30, 278, 280–81
right to speedy trial as issue in, 274, 279, 280–81, 283
second trial ordered in, 118
Smith and, see Smith, Erskine
stay of execution issued by, 186
in wait for Alabama Supreme Court decision, 170, 171
Washington’s 1971 release from prison, 332–33
Washington’s 1972 indictment and, 335–36
Washington, Caliph, on death row, 159–60, 168
at Atmore Prison, 151–52, 155
in Bible Room, 180, 183, 184, 187
clemency hearing of, 175, 180–81
despair of, 171, 175, 184
execution dates set for, 178, 180–81
in fights with fellow inmates, 170–71, 175
Johnson’s order for release of, 199
Johnson’s stay of execution and, 186, 187
in solitary confinement, 171–72, 175
in transfer from Atmore to Kilby, 156
in transfers between Kilby and Atmore, 161
Wallace’s reprieves of, 177–78, 179, 180–81, 188–90
Washington, Christine Luna, 354
author’s interviews with, xiii–xiv
Washington’s courtship of, 333–34
Washington, Doug, 3–4, 11, 150, 314
Washington, George, 29–30
Washington, Joseph “Doogie,” 6
Army service of, 12
in excessive-force lawsuit against Bessemer, 11
1955 arrest and trial of, 8–11
Parsons’ pistol-whipping of, 7–8
Washington, Michael, 354
Washington, Wilbert, 46
Washington family:
Bessemer house of, 6–7
Pickens County home of, 3–4
Washington v. Holman, 196, 230
Washington v. Lee, 237–51, 279
Austin’s testimony in, 249
Bailey’s testimony in, 249
Boone’s testimony in, 248–49
case against appeal to Supreme Court, 255–56
cruel and unusual punishment argument in, 246, 248, 250
Johnson in, 241, 244, 249
Lee as lead defendant in, 239
Lee’s testimony in, 250
Lynne in, 241, 243–46, 249–51
Madison in, 245–46, 248–49
Morgan in, 238–40, 244, 248, 250–51
Morgan’s brief in, 246–47
oral arguments in, 248
Rives in, 241, 244, 248, 249–51
Supreme Court appeal of, see Lee v. Washington
unanimous opinion in, 249–51
Washington as lead plaintiff in, 237, 238, 240, 270
Watson, R. S., 168
Watts, L. D., 101
Weldon, B. G., 170
Wenonah Iron Ore Mines, 44
West Germany, black U.S. soldiers in, 12–13
What Is to Be Done (Lenin), 122
Whiskeytown, 19, 21, 33
White, Byron, 261, 298
in Lee v. Washington, 262
White, Harie, 166
White, Luellen, 130
White, Tommy, 179
White Citizens’ Council, 82–83, 254
white supremacy, 3, 38, 78
White v. Crook, 294
Why We Can’t Wait (King), 226
Wiggins, William, 169
Williams, Herman, 179
Williams, Hosea, 223, 238, 240
Williams, J. C., 203
Williams, Max, 340
attempted assassination of, 339–40, 342–43
Barron fired by, 341
elected Bessemer commissioner of public safety, 338
vice squad run by, 338–39, 341–42, 343
Williamson, H. E., 37–38
Wilson, James, 32
Wilson, John C., 303
Wiman, Martin J., 170–71
Winston County, A
la., 184
Wisdom, John Minor, 300
Wood, A. J., 141, 335
Clark’s radio transmissions and, 39, 41–42
at scene of Clark’s shooting, 42
Woods, Abraham, 222, 300
Woodward Iron Company, 123
Works Progress Administration (WPA), 34
World War I, 156
World War II, 126
Yellow Mama, see electrocutions, electric chair, in Alabama
Yoder, Edwin M., 304–5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. JONATHAN BASS is a professor of history at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and the author of the Pulitzer Prize–nominated Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Reared in the industrial suburb of Fairfield, Alabama, Bass is a frequent speaker on race, religion, and culture and was recognized by the National Urban League with an Interracial Friendship Award. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and lives in Birmingham with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, Kathleen, Caroline, and Nathaniel.
ALSO BY S. JONATHAN BASS
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Eight White Religious Leaders, and the
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Copyright © 2017 by S. Jonathan Bass
All rights reserved
First Edition
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Bass, S. Jonathan, author.
Title: He calls me by lightning : the life of Caliph Washington and the forgotten
saga of Jim Crow, southern justice, and the death penalty / S. Jonathan Bass.
Description: First edition. | New York ; London : Liveright Publishing Corporation,
[2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005135 | ISBN 9781631492372 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Washington, Caliph, 1939–2001. | Discrimination in
criminal justice administration—Alabama—History. | African American prisoners—
Alabama—Biography. | Death row inmates—Alabama—Biography. |
Alabama—Race relations—History.
Classification: LCC E185.93.A3 B37 2017 | DDC 305.8009761—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005135
ISBN 978-1-63149-238-9 (e-book)
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