that the prosecution, by lengthy examination of each individual juror, would have been unable to qualify many of them, if the assumption is made that the inhabitants of Selma are hostile to the civil rights worker. As a matter of trial technique, the custom is to examine each juror individually if the attorney wants to eliminate certain people with a bias.

The next procedure was the "striking" of jurors. There were 67 jurors left after the above qualifying procedure. The State was allowed to challenge (eliminate) 13, the defense, 42. (The obvious implication of the procedure needs little comment.) The jurors who were selected, and their occupation, are as

follows:

Billy G. Bozzer, Mail carrier.

William E. Barrett, Insurance agent.

Raymond V. Schiffer, Auto sales manager.

Willie C. Ellington, Salesman.

Milton L. Adams, Officer-electric company.
T. Maynard Busby, Grocery manager.
William W. Vaughan, Own company.

M. Woods Culpepper, Logger.

Cecil O. Campbell, Truck driver.

J. Cooper DeRamus, Jr., Cigar store employee.

It should be pointed out that there were four Negroes in the pool, but they were eliminated by the defense.

After the striking of the jurors, the prosecution made its opening statement to the jury. The statement was made by the Circuit Solicitor, Blanchard McLeod, and was very short. The Solicitor said that he would show that the three defendants "did the killing." He then went on to say that, because of a heart attack, his doctors had ordered that he not try a case until after the first of January, and that he was turning the prosecution of this case over to Mr. Virgis Ashworth. Mr. Ashworth is a former state representative; it is my understanding that this is the first case in which he was participating as a prosecutor.

The defense then made an opening statement which in substance outlined their defenses. The defense would be that the wounds that the Rev. Mr. Reeb received was not the wounds which caused his death, and that the wounds were "altered" from the time that he was in Selma to the time that he was seen in Birmingham. The second defense would be that the defendants were not in the area when Reeb was attacked. More specifically, O'Neal Hoggle was in a restaurant and Elmer A. Cook and Stanley Hoggle were at their places of business. There were three witnesses who would testify to these facts. The defense also pointed out that they would show thaat there were three or four other groups of persons in the area at the time of the assault, and that these groups could have and probably did cause the injuries.

The first witness was then called by the State. He was the Rev. Clark Olsen, Mr. Olsen identified himself as a clergyman from California. When asked who his attackers were, Mr. Olsen identified Cook from more than 300 people in the Courtroom, and the identification was made by standing and pointing to that specific defendant. With respect to the other attackers, he was only able to say that the two Hoggle brothers were similar in appearance, but he could not "positively" identify them, and that "they resembled to some degree the men I remember attacking me." He did ask the Judge if the other two defendants would stand, but the Judge said "no."

Mr. Olsen testified that he had had dinner at Walker's Cafe on Washington Street some time between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., and that he remained in the Cafe from 1% to 2 hours. He estimated that it was about 7:30 p.m. when he and the Rev. Orloff Miller and the Rev. James Reeb left the Cafe and turned right on Washington Street and that it was a few moments later that they were attacked near the Silver Moon Cafe at the intersection of Washington Street and Selma Avenue. He testified that as they neared the Silver Moon Cafe, "our attention was attracted by some men who started to come after us from across the street. They shouted at us and came in a threatening manner." He said that there were four or five men, and that the group continued walking for 12 or 15 feet. He testified that one of the attackers was carrying a stick or pipe, "an object of some length." Reeb was walking on the street side, slightly behind him, and Miller was in the middle, whereas he, Olsen, was on the building side. He stated that he saw one of the men swing the stick or

club and hit Reeb on the side of the head. He saw Miller crouch down to avoid a blow, and he himself ran a few steps away from the attackers. One of the attackers, however, came at him. He testified that he was caught after running a few steps and was struck several times and lost his glasses. He testified, "I had an especially good view of the man attacking me. I turned to face him. I raised my arms to protect myself and saw him as he hit me." When the brief attack stopped, he stated that he looked back and saw one or two of the men (attackers) kicking Reeb and Miller. Olsen established the duration of the attack to be about 30 seconds.

After the men had withdrawn, and he did not know in which direction, he returned to the side of Miller and Reeb to see if he could aid them. He described Reeb as being badly hurt and unable to speak coherently immediately after the beating, his words babbling out.

He and Miller assisted Reeb to his feet, had him lean against the building, and when he was able to speak, and appeared to be conscious, they helped him to the Boynton Insurance Agency. As far as he was concerned, Olsen could only observe a small wound. Reeb, however, complained of a terrible headache.

In describing the man who attacked him, Olson again said he had a "very good view of the man who attacked me."

Olsen stated in great detail the subsequent events at the Boynton Insurance Agency, where they finally got an ambulance and took Reeb to the Burwell Infirmary in Selma, where he was treated by Dr. Dinkins, a Negro physician. It was here that Reeb's condition worsened, and he lapsed into unconsciousness. Arrangements were made by Dr. Dinkins for Reeb to be moved to Birmingham for treatment by a neuro-surgeon. On leaving the Burwell Infirmary, for Birmingham, and about four or five miles out of town, the ambulance got a "flat rear tire," and they decided to return to Selma. On returning, they drove to a local radio station where they called for a second ambulance and made a telephone call for police protection. After placing Reeb in the second ambulance, they returned to the Boynton Insurance Agency to pick up a check for $150 which they had learned would be required to have Reeb admitted to the Birmingham Hospital. In the meantime, Dr. Dinkins was obtaining an automobile so that he could follow the ambulance.

Olsen went on to testify in some detail as to the events which took place at the Birmingham Hospital where he said they arrived at about 11:00 p.m. Reeb had still not regained consciousness.

With respect to the cross-examination of Clark Olsen, the defense attorney apparently had use of the FBI report. There was an attempt to show photographs to the witness, as well as earlier statements which had been made to investigators. Olsen testified in cross-examination that he had lost his glasses in the attack. On further cross-examination, the defense brought out that Olsen had arrived in Selma from California less than four hours before Reeb was fatally beaten and that he had come to Selma to join in the demonstrations because he felt that he wanted to come as an individual to lend his assistance. He was asked questions as to whether or not he was a pacifist. He said he was not. He admitted that he had been driven from Montgomery to Selma in a car chauffeured by a Southern Christian Leadership Conference driver. Upon his arrival in Selma, he went to hear the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. After that meeting, and subsequent to the march, he went to Walker's Cafe. (Walker's Cafe is apparently a well-known Negro restaurant in Selma. Attempts were made to point out this fact by asking questions such as, "Who was in the Cafe?" etc.)

The trial recessed at 4:30 p.m., with Olsen still on the stand.

THE SECOND DAY

Olsen was on the stand at the beginning of the second day. Under crossexamination, he testified that, in his opinion, Cook was not the man who struck Reeb, but he was positive that Cook was the man who struck him. The second witness called was the Rev. Orloff Miller, who identified himself as a Unitarian Universalist clergyman from Hingham, Massachusetts. Miller testified that he was able to identify Cook as the leader of the group which attacked Olsen, Reeb, and himself. He further testified that since the other men's lives were at stake, he could not be positive, but they definitely were men he had seen on that day.

Miller testified that he had been in Walker's Cafe, but had left about five minutes before the others to go outside for a cigar, and that the others, Reeb and Olsen, joined him outside and started to walk toward the intersection of Washington Street and Selma Avenue, where they planned to turn right and proceed to the Boynton Insurance Agency. As they were walking, four or five white men came from between parked cars, one shouting, "Hey, you niggers." They thereupon quickened their pace, the men approached from behind and to the left. Miller testified that "Jim was struck to the pavement. I heard the blow." He further testified that he immediately turned around, dropped to the pavement in a crouched position, as he had been taught to do, and was attacked or kicked on the forehead and on the arm. He described the attack as "an eternity, but was probably about 30 seconds." He testified that he saw the attackers and that he could identify them, whereupon he rose and identified Cook and stated that he was in the lead of the attackers that night. went on to describe what subsequently happened after the attackers left, and the problems which they had in getting Reeb to Birmingham. Miller told about going to the Boynton Insurance Agency, getting an ambulance from the funeral home, going to Burwell Infirmary, proceeding out of town, proceeding to the radio station, getting a second ambulance, getting the money, and starting off for Birmingham with Dr. Dinkins following. In answer to a question by the prosecutor, Miller said that he had kept notes and stated that they arrived in Birmingham at about 11:00 p.m.

He

In cross-examination, Miller was asked to designate the position that he took during the attack, and he did this. He then agreed that he saw little after the attack began. He recalled that it was not dark, but that he street lights had come on while he was outside smoking his cigar. He did not see the instrument that hit Reeb, but he did reaffirm that he got a good look at the lead man.

Miller described in great detail the ambulance trip, and it was brought out that the injured man was not lying on his stomach, that there was no emergency equipment, such as oxygen tanks and respirators used to keep the circulatory passages open. Miller described Reeb as being unconscious, and in great pain. He further testified that he did nothing because he knew of nothing to do.

The prosecutor went into great pains to inquire of Miller whether or not the wound which Reeb suffered was a "compound, communated multiple skull fracture." There was no objection raised by the prosecution to these questions, but Miller said that he was not familiar with this terminology.

The prosecution did suggest that the defense describe such a wound, which the defense did, and that the skull "would be crushed like an egg shell with fragments of bone penetrating through the skin." With this description, Miller asked whether or not such a condition would go unnoticed immediately after an injury, but would develop as pressure increased from swelling.

Miller further testified that on the ambulance trip to the Birmingham Hospital, the stretcher did not fit the ambulance and had to be kept up against the side by him. He said that it had a tendency to roll.

A waitress, Ouida Larson, who worked at the Silver Moon Cafe, testified that she saw Cook and the two Hoggles together in the Cafe some time between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. On cross-examination, she was unable to pinpoint the time, and she said that she heard nothing about the beating until the next day.

The remainder of the day was taken up with the qualifying of an "incompetent" witness, Edgar W. Stipling. The Public Safety Director of Selma, Wilson Baker, and Peter Lackeos, testified, as well as Dr. DeBardeleben. Wilson Baker testified that he had noticed Stripling, who was a part-time employee at the Silver Moon Cafe, shadowboxing with parking meters, and, on occasion, talking with his coffee cup and saucer. Mr. Baker was put on by the defense with the intention of giving evidence to disqualify the State's proposed witness. Stripling had already been sworn and had answered questions with respect to his being able to tell the difference between truth and fantasy. He had then been excused so that the defense could put on some witnesses.

Following Wilson Baker to the stand, Peter Lackeos (who spoke with a foreign accent and was difficult to understand) identified himself as the owner of the Silver Moon Cafe, and as the employer and friend of Stripling for a

great many years. He testified that Stripling had told him of fights which he claimed had taken place at the Cafe during his absence, and which he knew had not taken place.

Dr. DeBardeleben was called to the stand by the defense and testified that he specialized in internal medicine and that he was a general practitioner in Selma. He read extensively from Veterans' Administration records which indicated that Stripling had been in and out of Veterans' hospitals on a number of occasions. The last time was in 1959, and indicated that Stripling was a residual schizophrenic. The doctor said that certain types of this illness make it impossible for a patient to distinguish between fact and fantasy at times. He further testified that he did not know Stripling and had never examined him, and that the only information he had was obtained from the records of the Veterans' Administration.

At this time it should be noted that the State made no attempt medically to qualify this witness, nor did it object to the tesimony of a general practitioner. On the other hand, however, when the doctor was testifying as to his qualifications, the State admitted that he was a qualified doctor. There is no indication on the record as to the qualifications of the defense's expert on mental illness. The evidence is quite strong to the contrary, in that the doctor is a general practitioner, had made no examination of the proposed witness, and was basing his so-called opinion testimony solely on the basis of records, the last entry in which was made six years prior to his testimony. At the most, he testified that it would be difficult for the proposed witness to determine the difference between truth and fantasy. Alabama has a statute which permits a Judge to disqualify a witness if the witness, at the time of his testimony, does not understand the oath which is being administered.* There certainly was no testimony that this witness did not understand the oath at the time it was being administered.

The Judge found that the witness was disqualified and stated: "I realize that it is a serious thing to determine whether a man is competent to testify. He might be able to tell the truth or he might not, I do not know. But I feel it would not be right to lay this witness before the jury in the face of his medical record and ask them to take credence in what he has to say."

THE THIRD DAY

The next witness to be called by the State was Mr. R. B. Kelley. (Kelley was arrested with the three defendants, but was never indicted.) The defense objected to Kelley's testifying, and represented to the Court that there were Federal conspiracy charges still being considered which would involve the same matters which this witness would be required to testify to and that the witness had availed himself of the Fifth Amentment privilege. The State argued that it should be allowed to ask Kelley questions and that, as to those questions which he felt would incriminate him, he could avail himself of the Fifth Amendment. The Judge would not allow this and stated in effect that he could not imagine any question which would not also be involved in the conspiracy case and, therefore, he would not require the witness to testify. (The State made no effort to argue that the witness might well be granted immunity, if he was forced to testify, although this is a debatable point because immunity may not be effective to forestall a Federal Court proceeding.) What is not clear with respect to Kelley is whether he had ever given any statements before the Grand Jury or whether he had otherwise waived his privilege through prior testimony.

Dr. Dinkins was called by the prosecution and said that he examined Reeb around 8:30 p.m. at the Burwell Infirmary. His initial examination indicated that Reeb suffered a laceration and contusion of the left temple, and he ordered an X-ray taken, but it was not good enough to read. In the meantime, he reported that the condition of the injured man worsened and the symptoms showed that he had sustained an injury of a type that required additional study and treatment. Dr. Dinkins thereupon made arrangements for Reeb to enter University Hospital in Birmingham. He testified that there were no neuro-surgeons in Selma. On cross-examination, he testified that he was not able to determine whether Reeb had a skull fracture, and there was no indication on his first

*The Statute reads: "Persons who have not the use of reason, as idiots, lunatics during lunacy, and children who do not understand the nature of an oath, are incompetent witnesses."

examination that there was pressure on the brain, but that within 10 minutes he did note pupillary reflexes which would indicate that pressure was being exerted on the brain.

He testified that, on the trip to Birmingham, the first ambulance threw a recap, and it became necessary to return to Selma and that they called for a second ambulance from a radio station. While that was coming, he said that he returned to pick up his own car.

He testified that Reeb received no treatment prior to his arrival in Birmingham, and that there were no respirators, tubes, or oxygen used to keep the air passages clear and that he gave no instructions to the ministers who rode with the victim. He further testified that, on the trip to Birmingham, there was a 10 to 15 minute delay while he got his car, and that the reason for his getting his automobile was that they were unable to get assistance from law enforcement officials. They left Selma for Birmingham at 9:30 p.m.

(I wonder why the prosecution called Dr. Dinkins, in that he really added nothing to the State's case. On the contrary, his testimony was not only embarrassing for him, but indicated that he was probably ill-equipped to handle this type of injury.)

Dr. Dinkins was asked, on cross-examination, why he did not take the patient to a Selma hospital, and pictures were introduced to show that the hospital in Selma was a rather modern facility. He stated that he had never been asked to step foot in the hospital.

Following Dr. Dinkins' testimony, the depositions of four Birmingham doctors were introduced by the State, although they had been taken by counsel for the defendants. The procedure which followed was for the defense counsel, Mr. Pilcher, to read the questions, and for one of his assistants, Mr. Radford, to read the answers.

Dr. Thomas H. Allen testified by way of deposition that he had administered to the patient by performing a tracheotomy and assisting in surgery to relieve the pressure on the brain. It was his opinion that Reeb died as a direct result of the head injuries.

Dr. James Argires, the neuro-surgeon at the University Hospital, outlined in detail the emergency operation performed. He testified that it was his opinion that Reeb died because of irreversible brain damage, and that the severe cranial head injury "would have led to death" in any patient.

Dr. Stanley Graham, another neuro-surgeon, testified that he had seen Reeb in the operating room and that it was his opinion that the fact that none of the usual procedures for dealing with vomiting were employed and the respiratory passages were not kept clear might have contributed to Reeb's death. This doctor also said the delay in getting Reeb to the hospital played a significant part and that, if Reeb had arrived one hour earlier, there would have been a greater chance of survival, and that the delay "seriously impaired" Reeb's chances for survival.

The final deposition was that of Dr. Ernest S. Tucker, a pathologist at the University Hospital, and it was through this deposition that 13 autopsy pictures were introduced. The autopsy disclosed that pneumonia contributed to some extent to the death of the patient, but that death came as a direct result of complications following one or more blows to the head.

The last witness to be called that day was Dr. Robert G. Johnson, a state toxicologist, who observed the autopsy. It was his opinion that Reeb died as a result of brain damage and pneumonia, both of which were direct and indirect results of the blow. He described the fracture resulting from the blow or blows as severe in the sense that it was severe compatible with life, but not severe to the extent of what one would expect to see if a person had been hit by a railroad train. He further testified that such an injury would result in almost certain death, if untreated. In cross-examination, he stated that, in his opinion, if competent continuing treatment had been given immediately, the survival rate would be something like one out of two or one out of three.

THE FOURTH DAY

At the opening of the session, the State said that it had one material witness which it was trying to convince to come to Selma from Mississippi, Billey Edwards, of Greenville, Mississippi. Mr. Ashworth stated that he had talked with Edwards on the telephone and that Edwards had indicated that he would come to Selma on the first available plane. The Court recessed for 45 minutes, and

65-506-66-pt. 1- -33