When Good Men Do Nothing: the Assassination of Albert Patterson.When Good Men Do Nothing: The Assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. of Albert Patterson Albert Patterson (d. June 18 1954) was a newly elected attorney general of the U.S. state of Alabama when he was gunned down outside of his office in Phenix City, Alabama shortly after he was elected. . By Alan Grady. (Tuscaloosa and London: University of Alabama Press The University of Alabama Press is a university press that is part of the University of Alabama. External link
abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-8173-1141-6.) In June 1954, Albert Patterson was shot to death in the small Alabama town of Phenix City Phenix City (fē`nĭks), city (1990 pop. 25,312), a seat of Russell co., E Ala., on the Chattahoochee River opposite Columbus, Ga., in a cotton area; inc. 1883. Textiles are manufactured there. . City and county authorities had long allowed gambling and prostitution to flourish in Phenix City, drawing many visitors from nearby Fort Benning, Georgia. The Russell Betterment Association (RBA RBA Rare Bird Alert RBA Reserve Bank of Australia RBA Run Book Automation RBA Rochester Business Alliance RBA Rights-Based Approach RBA Royal Brunei Airlines (ICAO code) RBA Relative Byte Address RBA relative binding affinity ), a group of citizens determined to "clean up" the city, hired local attorney Patterson to help in their attempts to return order to Phenix City and to remove corrupt officials from power. Patterson and the RBA eventually decided that they must work outside the local power structure. Patterson therefore entered the Democratic primary for state attorney general, campaigning on a platform of law and order with Phenix City as his first goal. Surprisingly, he won. He was assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. less than three weeks later. Alan Grady's book concentrates primarily on the subsequent investigation into Patterson's murder. Grady notes that the events surrounding the investigation reveal a complex intertwining of "uncertainty, internal conflict, and outside political pressure" (p. ix). Grady's purpose, admirably fulfilled, is to detail the disturbing path of a flawed investigation, one that "lost both its direction and its focus" (p. ix). Grady argues that one major defect was the fact that the attorney general's office (which would prosecute the case) also led the investigation stage. Blame for this and other failings can be shared by officials at all levels of state government. Grady implies that public and political pressure to bring indictments led officials to ignore information that contradicted their theory of the motive for the murder in favor of building the state's case against the men they thought had the most to gain from Patterson's death. Grady does not offer an opinion on whether justice was served or miscarried. He simply raises issues, presents information, and leaves the reader to form an opinion. Yet the complicated case begs for more analysis. A summary and critical evaluation of the contradictory findings of the investigation and a judgment about the outcomes of the subsequent indictments and trials would have been a useful addition. Historians will also wish for greater attention to previous works on the subject. The story is an engrossing engrossing, in English law, practice of acquiring a monopoly of goods in order to sell them at an inflated price. The offense was ordinarily limited to monopolies of foods. Related practices were forestalling, i.e. one and is well told by Grady, but the most significant point of Grady's work is that Grady was the first person allowed access to the files compiled by Bernard Sykes, the acting attorney general who led the investigation. These files were opened only in 1994; they form the heart of Grady's work and are the single most important reason that the book deserves attention. Overall, Grady has done an admirable job in bringing fresh attention to a sad chapter of Alabama history. University of Montevallo History The University of Montevallo opened October 1896 as the Alabama Girls’ Industrial School (AGIS), a women-only technical school that also offered high school-level courses. RUTH SMITH TRUSS |
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