Correspondence regarding Jimmy Wilson, 1958.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Correspondence regarding Jimmy Wilson, 1958.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122388746

Jimmy Wilson, a fifty-five year old black male and resident of Marion in Perry County, Alabama, was indicted on charges of robbery and burglary. Wilson allegedly robbed Estelle Baker, an elderly white female, who was also a resident of Marion, AL, of one dollar and ninety-five cents. Wilson was represented by two court-appointed attorneys who failed to cross examine state witnesses. A jury deliberated for less than an hour and found Wilson guilty of robbery. Wilson was sentenced to death by electrocution. His sentencing led to a public outcry from numerous civic, educational, legal, religious and political organizations and affiliated individuals. Official correspondence of Alabama Governor James E. Folsom, Sr. regarding Jimmy Wilson records the public response to Wilson's sentencing. Included are incoming and outgoing letters and petitions. A number of correspondents enclosed newspaper articles with their letters. Others enclosed symbolic checks for one dollar and ninety-five cents. In addition to letters that were sent directly to Governor Folsom's office, letters were solicited by Canadian radio station CKEY to be sent to the governor. Letters were sent from areas throughout the Americas, Europe, and Africa. They were written in numerous languages including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and English. Included in the collection is one folder containing letters from people favoring Wilson's execution. A number of these correspondents chose to remain anonymous and, therefore, withheld their names. The other correspondents requested and supported the commuting of Wilson's sentence to life imprisonment or that he be granted clemency. Wilson's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Governor Folsom on September 29, 1958. Prominent correspondents include Averell Harriman, New York Governor, John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State; and Martin L. King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader. Of particular interest are letters from individual chapters of the NAACP; files that record contributions sent to the Governor's office on Wilson's behalf; a file of correspondents expressing favor in Wilson's execution; a file containing a letter from Dr. Martin L. King on behalf of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); and a file recording correspondence from the U.S. Secretary of State John F. Dulles.

8 cubic ft. (8 records center cartons).

Alabama Department of Archives and History

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6698779

Alabama Department of Archives and History

Related Entities

There are 11 Entities related to this resource.

Congress of Racial Equality

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d904dp (corporateBody)

Downtown CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), a chapter of the CORE national organization, was formed in March 1963 and remained active until the end 1966. Based on Manhattan's Lower East Side, it was one of nearly a dozen New York City local chapters organized in the early 1960s. Its founders included Rita and Michael Schwerner (the latter one of the group of three civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964), and its members included radical pacifist Igal Rodenko, anarchi...

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6k17w53 (corporateBody)

Organizational History and List of Officers Organizational History 1909 Issued the “Call,” a statement calling for a conference to protest discrimination and violence against African Americans Convened the National Negro Conference on May 31 and June 1, New York, N.Y. E...

Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rs2ptc (person)

William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman, and later as the 48th Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956, as well as a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men". While attendi...

United States. Secretary of State (1952-1959: Dulles).

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kt37zz (corporateBody)

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qs5m3z (person)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia –d. April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee) was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. King helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1965, he helped to organize the Selma to M...

Alabama. Governor (1955-1959 : Folsom).

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z675h1 (corporateBody)

Baker, Estelle

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65x63gg (person)

Wilson, Jimmy, 1921-1965

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gt9fhz (person)

Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65r5k8g (person)

John Foster Dulles (1888-1959), was the fifty-third Secretary of State of the United States for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He had a long and distinguished public career with significant impact upon the formulation of United States foreign policies. He was especially involved with efforts to establish world peace after World War I, the role of the United States in world governance, and Cold War relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dulles was born on February 25, 1888 ...

CKEY (Radio Station: Canada).

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d85tws (corporateBody)

Folsom, James Elisha, 1908-1987.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d51f92 (person)