The Trials of Eroy Brown

The Murder Case That Shook the Texas Prison System

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Criminology, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book The Trials of Eroy Brown by Michael Berryhill, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Berryhill ISBN: 9780292742185
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: December 15, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Michael Berryhill
ISBN: 9780292742185
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: December 15, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

In April 1981, two white Texas prison officials died at the hands of a black inmate at the Ellis prison farm near Huntsville. Warden Wallace Pack and farm manager Billy Moore were the highest-ranking Texas prison officials ever to die in the line of duty. The warden was drowned face down in a ditch. The farm manager was shot once in the head with the warden's gun. The man who admitted to killing them, a burglar and robber named Eroy Brown, surrendered meekly, claiming self-defense.

In any other era of Texas prison history, Brown's fate would have seemed certain: execution. But in 1980, federal judge William Wayne Justice had issued a sweeping civil rights ruling in which he found that prison officials had systematically and often brutally violated the rights of Texas inmates. In the light of that landmark prison civil rights case, Ruiz v. Estelle, Brown had a chance of being believed.

The Trials of Eroy Brown, the first book devoted to Brown's astonishing defense, is based on trial documents, exhibits, and journalistic accounts of Brown's three trials, which ended in his acquittal. Michael Berryhill presents Brown's story in his own words, set against the backdrop of the chilling plantation mentality of Texas prisons. Brown's attorneys—Craig Washington, Bill Habern, and Tim Sloan—undertook heroic strategies to defend him, even when the state refused to pay their fees. The Trials of Eroy Brown tells a landmark story of prison civil rights and the collapse of Jim Crow justice in Texas.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In April 1981, two white Texas prison officials died at the hands of a black inmate at the Ellis prison farm near Huntsville. Warden Wallace Pack and farm manager Billy Moore were the highest-ranking Texas prison officials ever to die in the line of duty. The warden was drowned face down in a ditch. The farm manager was shot once in the head with the warden's gun. The man who admitted to killing them, a burglar and robber named Eroy Brown, surrendered meekly, claiming self-defense.

In any other era of Texas prison history, Brown's fate would have seemed certain: execution. But in 1980, federal judge William Wayne Justice had issued a sweeping civil rights ruling in which he found that prison officials had systematically and often brutally violated the rights of Texas inmates. In the light of that landmark prison civil rights case, Ruiz v. Estelle, Brown had a chance of being believed.

The Trials of Eroy Brown, the first book devoted to Brown's astonishing defense, is based on trial documents, exhibits, and journalistic accounts of Brown's three trials, which ended in his acquittal. Michael Berryhill presents Brown's story in his own words, set against the backdrop of the chilling plantation mentality of Texas prisons. Brown's attorneys—Craig Washington, Bill Habern, and Tim Sloan—undertook heroic strategies to defend him, even when the state refused to pay their fees. The Trials of Eroy Brown tells a landmark story of prison civil rights and the collapse of Jim Crow justice in Texas.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Texas Ranger John B. Jones and the Frontier Battalion, 1874-1881 by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Palestinian Cinema in the Days of Revolution by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Warriors and Scholars by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Left of Hollywood by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Jews in an Arab Land by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Migrant Song by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Science in Medieval Islam by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Palestinians Born in Exile by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Texans in Revolt by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Filming Difference by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Facundo and the Construction of Argentine Culture by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Fiction and the Ways of Knowing by Michael Berryhill
Cover of the book Censorship and Sexuality in Bombay Cinema by Michael Berryhill
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy