I am from Coweta County, which beleive it or not is a real place about 20 miles south of Atlanta GA, and remember watching this movie in eight grade history class--all i have to say is thank god for IMDB or i would have forgotten about how great it was--you really get a feel for how things were like--one can feel the south in those days and feel it today and see how, although there has been change, so much is the same.
shareI just finished watching this movie in my 8th grade Ga History Class, and I thought it was good. The only problem I had with it was thinking of Andy Griffith as a bad guy
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Hey alford since you are from there maybe you have access to more information. What I wonder about is did Meriwether Couunty resent Wallace for his power and the trial had some political motivation to execute him. Usually when someone has all power in one county he has some influence in neighboring country. Don't get me wrong because he did commit murder but I think realistically most would have got a long prison sentence. Also this is Georgia in 1940s and right or wrong a black man's testimony would rarely convic a white person. I also wonder if Wallace didn't have a good lawyer or did Merither County have a vendetta against him. I read where the others with him served time for being an accessory to murder but what about the jailers that let the victim "escape." They would have been in it too and knew what was going on. Why weren't they also prosecute?
Don't get me wrong. Wallace deserved punishment but still a long prison sentence would have been more in order.
It would be interesting to hear what Coweta County and Meriwether County folks have to say about it while information may be available. It seems like there was some political motivation involved in the incident.
I can understand why you would think that but according to my grandparents, Wallace was not well liked but he was feared. He didn't care what color you were, he would kill you if he felt that he was wronged by you. If he didn't have a problem with you then you were okay with him. Back in those days they didn't give life sentences to much for murder you were usually sentenced to death.
Thanks for the information suzettempt. I finally borrowed the book from the library and the movie did a good job of basically following the book. Of course the book had more details about the trial but the evidence against Wallace was oonclusive and the case was open and shut. Of course when the ones with Wallace refused to testify that even made it even more clear of their guilt. The main point is that Wallace seemed to think his power would get him off.
shareHey susettempt are there any feelings as to what Mr. Wallace sentence had been had he acted with remorse and threw himself on the mercy of the court? Maybe wihtout having a long trail he would have got a life sentence instead of death.
shareI haven't read the book and am only going on the movie. Wallace sealed his fate with his phony story about never intending to kill Turner. If he had let his defense do its job, he may have only been convicted of manslaughter. Indeed, he may have gotten a mistrial or even acquitted if the prosecution whose burden it was to prove all the elements of the crime happened where they said it happened, had failed in that regard.
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
-Dennis