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Lot #2046
Sheriff 'Smoot' Schmid's 'Execution Book'

Smoot Schmid's 1930s 'execution index'

Estimate: $800+
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Description

Smoot Schmid's 1930s 'execution index'

Dallas County Sheriff 'Smoot' Schmid's 'execution index' in a black 6.75 x 10 binder, containing 23 cardstock pages filled out in type with prisoners' charges, sentences, and execution dates, bearing affixed mug shot photos. Among the more notable criminals listed are: the brothers Bluitt and Thurman Burkley (arrested by Ted Hinton and convicted of two murders); Jesse Mott (a 300-pound murderer who became known for his enormous last meal); Cecil Short (whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment; he was nearly killed anyway due to a typographical error); Dwight Beard (a one-time football star at the University of North Carolina, convicted of murdering a police officer); Winzell Williams (killed his employer); Harvey T. Nealey (murdered his stepfather with an ax); and Bluitt Hampton (stabbed his wife to death with an ice pick).

Two pages also represent significant Civil Rights cases in an era still marred by Jim Crow, in which no African-Americans were present on the juries: Henry Allen Hill, whose rape conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court on the grounds that the grand jury selection process was discriminatory; and L. C. Akins, convicted of murdering a police officer when boarding a bus, whose death sentence was later commuted to life. In fine condition, with some adhesive remnants to cover. From the collection of Dallas County Sheriff 'Smoot' Schmid.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Gangsters, Outlaw & Lawmen
  • Dates: #503 - Ended June 23, 2017