The Execution of Willie Francis

May 17, 2008

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

Gilbert King, author of The Execution of Willie Francis, told the story of Willie Francis, who was sentenced to death, strapped in the electric chair and electrocuted, but didn't die. In the book, Mr. King presents the history of the botched execution, the Supreme Court case that followed, and the search for justice in the American South .. Read More
Gilbert King, author of The Execution of Willie Francis, told the story of Willie Francis, who was sentenced to death, strapped in the electric chair and electrocuted, but didn't die. In the book, Mr. King presents the history of the botched execution, the Supreme Court case that followed, and the search for justice in the American South during the mid-1940s. After his talk, he responded to audience members' questions. Several of the families involved in the case were in attendance. Gilbert King has contributed articles to numerous newspapers and magazines, including Ring Magazine, Playboy, and the San Diego Union. He is also the author of Woman, Child For Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century, which was selected by the Detroit Free Press as one of its ten notable books of 2004.

1 hours, 13 minutes | 282 Views

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TRANSCRIPT

TIME SPEAKER TEXT
00:00:01 Unidentified Speaker NOW AUTHOR GILBERT KING AND HIS BOOK. THIS IS AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES.
00:00:08 Unidentified Speaker FIRST OF ALL I JUST WANT TO START AND REALLY SAY SOMETHING FROM MY HEART. I'M REALLY HONORED AND OVERJOYED...
00:01:04 Unidentified Speaker THE EXECUTION OF WILLIE FRANCIS IS A STORY THAT BEGINS WITH A MURDER. IT ENDS WITH SOME OF THE GREATEST...
00:44:15 Unidentified Speaker IT ACTUALLY WENT THREE TIMES. FIRST TIME WAS THE ACTUAL CASE. THE SECOND TIME WAS WHEN THEY LEARNED...
00:45:53 Unidentified Speaker GOOD AFTERNOON. DID THE SUPREME COURT AT ANY POINT SAY THAT THIS WAS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL?
00:46:02 Unidentified Speaker WELL, THAT WAS BERTRAND'S ARGUE; THAT IT WAS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL. HIT VIOLATED THE FIFTH AMENDMENT....
00:46:42 Unidentified Speaker TALK ABOUT THAT OR --
00:46:45 Unidentified Speaker I WOULDN'T SAY RESISTANCE. I FOUND THAT PEOPLE OF THE OLDER GENERATION WHO REMEMBERED THIS, THE RUMORS...
00:47:59 Unidentified Speaker ONE BACK HERE? OKAY.
00:48:03 Unidentified Speaker I READ THE BOOK. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. I CRIED AND I CRIED. WHAT I WAS -- NEVER GET A SENSE OF...
00:48:28 Unidentified Speaker I TRIED TO LOOK AT THIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TWO LAWYERS AT THE TIME WHO WERE REPRESENTING WILLIE...
00:52:28 Unidentified Speaker WERE YOU ABLE TO, LIKE, ASCERTAIN THROUGH YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THE EXACT...
00:52:42 Unidentified Speaker I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY WILLIE TOOK TO HISGRAPH. I TECH OKLAHOMA TELL YOU I DID FIND...
00:55:10 Unidentified Speaker WAS THERE ANY MEDICAL TREATMENT BETWEEN THE TIME OF THE BOTCHED EXECUTION AND -- FOR WILLIE EVEN MENTAL...
00:55:23 Unidentified Speaker WHEN WILLIE WALKED AIRPLANE FROM THE CHAIR, COUPLE DOCTORS CAME IN AND EXAMINED HIM, AND AS SHERIFF...
00:56:53 Unidentified Speaker COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS THAT HANDANDREW THOMAS WAS GAY AND IS THERE --
00:56:57 Unidentified Speaker YOU KNOW, THESE ARE RUMORS FLOATING AROUND THE TOWN AT THE TIME. RUMORS AROUND THE UP TO WAS THAT ...
00:59:41 Unidentified Speaker WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY THEY WERE ACTUALLY DIRECTLY HAPPENING. THERE WAS ONE CASE CALLED ADAMSON, A...
01:01:16 Unidentified Speaker BOOZE GUN WAS THAT?
01:01:21 Unidentified Speaker WELL, ACCORDING TO AUGUST IN ST. MARTIN'S FELL, HE ADMITTED IT WAS HIS GUN. AND AS A DEPUTY SHERIFF....
01:02:35 Unidentified Speaker AREN'T THE TWO DIFFERENT CONFESSIONS?
01:02:38 Unidentified Speaker YES. THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT CONFESSIONS. THE KIND OF CONTRADICTED EACH OTHER. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER,...
01:03:11 Unidentified Speaker DO THE PROCEEDS OF THE BOOK GO TO HIS FAMILY?
01:03:17 Unidentified Speaker THAT'S A GOOD POINT. ARE YOU WITH THE FAMILY? LAUGHTER, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? REMEMBER THE EMMET HELP...
01:03:26 Unidentified Speaker YOU MEAN AS FAR AS BEING HERE? WE HEARD YOU ARE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING --
01:03:31 Unidentified Speaker I'M CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR T-SHIRT.
01:03:34 Unidentified Speaker THE T-SHIRT REFLECTS WHAT HAPPENED TO END AT HILL IN MISSISSIPPI. THE MURDER OF OUR BROTHERS IS NOTHING...
01:03:45 Unidentified Speaker IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO PUT IT IN A BROADER CONTEXT. YOU KNOW, WILLIE FRANCIS BROUGHT...
01:04:39 Unidentified Speaker I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT POINT, AND IN TERMS OF JUSTICE, WHAT WAS THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF...
01:05:15 Unidentified Speaker RIGHT, WELL, WITH WILLIE A PARTICULAR, AT THE TIME THE SCHOOLS FOR BLACKS IN ST. MARTINSVILLE ONLY...
01:06:48 Unidentified Speaker TO START THE BOOK TALKING ABOUT THE CURSE.
01:06:52 Unidentified Speaker THE CURSE, YEAH.
01:06:54 Unidentified Speaker AND AFTER INTERACTIONS WITH THE RESIDENTS OF ST. MARTINSVILLE PARISH, AND TALKS TO THE OLDER GROUP,...
01:07:12 Unidentified Speaker WELL, I'VE BEEN DOWN HERE FOR A WEEK. I HAD A TORNADO AND A TRAIN BLOCK THE TRAFFIC. [LAUGHTER] I'M...
01:11:12 Unidentified Speaker THERE'S A GREAT CHANGE DUE TO THE FACT OF THIS CASE AND ONE OTHER FACT, WHAT WAS THE CONNECTION WITH...
01:11:23 Unidentified Speaker WELL, OKAY. THE CONNECTION IS WHEN I TALK ABOUT THESE GREAT NAMES AND CIVIL RIGHTS COMING TOGETHER...
01:13:07 Unidentified Speaker -- THE FIRST EXECUTION?
01:13:10 Unidentified Speaker IT'S INTERESTING, THE VERY END WHEN WILLIE FRANCIS, THE CASE WHEN THEY FIND OUT THAT WILLEY IS DRUNK,...

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

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