Did this really happen? How could this happen to this innocent man? Walter was no saint, but he was not a murderer. Reading this case was the most frustrating thing. How did this happen? How was a man convicted of a murder with little to no evidence? The officers got another inmate who was known as the jail snitch to testify against Walter.
#Mac walters racist trial#
Walter was put on trial by a jury and found guilty sodomy and the murder of Rhonda. The story that Myers give the police is something that would be hard to prove which is when the officers then decide to arrest Walter for the rape in hopes to find evidence for the murder. The officers were able to get no information from Walter regarding both the accused rape and murder of Rhonda (49). While Walter was being held in contempt he was told that he was arrested for raping another man, but yet he was being questioned about a murder case (48). They did this because Walter laughed at the reason for arresting Walter which then angered the officer (48). While the officers were arresting Walter, they used foul and insulting language (48). They drew guns on Walter and used force to get him out of his vehicle. When officers officially arrested Walter, there were more than a dozen officers there at the time of the arrest. In Alabama, it was against the law to have an nonprocreative sex (47). Myers was accusing Walter of sexually assaulting him (47). Police quickly became aware that Myers was lying and they still had no leads to who the killer was, months later.Ī few more months pass and the sheriff decides to arrest Walter on the allegations from Myers, on a pretextual charge. Him, Walter, and Karen were all involved in the murders. Myers, Karen’s boyfriend, said that he was involved in both mystery murders that recently occurred in town. The police questioned him on the matter and when the police began to believe that he was directly involved in the murder he pointed his finger to black men, who were innocent, so that police would not accuse him of the murder. He wanted to be the center of attention and be involved in things that were mysteries, like the recent Pittman murder. This man had a criminal record and was involved in drug dealing. Walter’s ex-wife began a relationship with a white man. The town hired a new sheriff in hopes of finding more evidence. The local authorities had no evidence leading to the murderer.
A young girl had been murdered in Monroe County.
Interracial sex and marriage had been criminalized, in Monroe County. Word spread quickly and Walter’s reputation quickly depleted. Joe asked that Walter testifies in court. Her husband, Joe, initiated gaining custody of their children and intended to publicly disgrace her for her affair with a black man. Her husband was now aware of the affair that was occurring between her and Walter. She and her husband were on the road to divorce. She was married and was having trouble in her marriage. Walter became involved with a woman who was eighteen years older than him, Karen. He was known as a lady’s man around town and was known to be involved with other women, romantically. He was well known and liked in his town, no matter the race. With limited education, he managed to begin his own pulpwood business (24). Walter grew up in a rural neighborhood in Alabama. He felt Walter’s sincerity and heartache (21). He had spoken to other inmates on death row that day, but Walter’s case is the one that stuck with him.
He first encountered Walter while he was on death row (20). Bryan, who was the attorney on Walter’s case, was young and just starting his career. The story of Walter McMillian in Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is the one that I found the most intriguing.