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The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson: A Battle for Racial Justice at the Dawn of the Civil Rights Era Hardcover – January 11, 2022

by Chris Joyner (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 50 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Investigative reporter Chris Joyner reveals the true story of Clarence Henderson, a Black sharecropper convicted and sentenced to death three times for a murder he didn’t commit.

Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR . . . SO FAR by The New Yorker

The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson is the true story of the wrongfully accused Black sharecropper and the Georgia prosecution desperate to pin the crime on him despite scant evidence. His first trial lasted only a day and featured a lackluster public defense. The book also tells the story of Homer Chase, a former World War II paratrooper and New England radical who was sent to the South by the Communist Party to recruit African Americans to the cause while offering them a chance at increased freedom. And it’s the story of Thurgood Marshall’s NAACP and their battle against not only entrenched racism but a Communist Party—despite facing nearly as much prejudice as those they were trying to help—intent on winning the hearts and minds of Black voters. The bitter battle between the two groups played out as the sides sparred over who would take the lead on Henderson’s defense, a period in which he spent years in prison away from a daughter he had never seen.

Through it all, The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson is a portrait of a community and a country at a crossroads, trying to choose between the path it knows is right and the path of least resistance. The case pitted powerful forces—often those steering legal and journalistic institutions—attempting to use racism and Red-Scare tactics against a populace that by and large believed the case against Henderson was suspect at best. But ultimately, it’s a hopeful story about how even when things look dark, some small measure of justice can be achieved against all the odds, and actual progress is possible. It’s the rare book that is a timely read, yet still manages to shed an informative light on America’s past and future, as well as its present.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  4. Publication date
    January 11, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1419756362
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1419756368
  8. See all details
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Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigative reporter Joyner debuts with a searing look at an unsolved murder case . . . Joyner provides just the right level of detail in this stranger-than-fiction narrative, in which endemic racism almost resulted in the execution of an innocent man."―Publishers Weekly, *starred* review

"Using a range of archival sources, Joyner illustrates Henderson’s vulnerable position as a Black defendant, and shows how external factors—such as the introduction of lie-detection and ballistics analysis and the rivalry between the N.A.A.C.P. and the Communist Party, which were both determined to come to his defense—shaped the legal proceedings in unexpected ways."―The New Yorker

“A compelling account of ‘justice’ in the Jim Crow South. Recommended for readers interested in true crime and race.”―Library Journal

“Three times Henderson went to trial for Stevens’ murder, three times he was convicted, and sentenced to die in the electric chair, and three times his convictions were overturned. Meanwhile, many believe that Buddy Stevens’ real murderer remained free. It’s an intriguing cold case story that might have remained under the radar if not for Joyner’s deeply researched book.”―Atlanta Journal Constitution

“Drawing on his two-plus decades of experience in journalism, Joyner plumbs newspaper archives, court records and personal interviews to tell the story not just of Henderson—a Black sharecropper in rural Georgia who in the late 1940s and early '50s was convicted and sentenced to death three times for a murder he didn't commit—but of race in the US after World War II.”―CNN

About the Author

Chris Joyner is an investigative reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution with more than two decades of experience in journalism, ranging from community newspapers to national and international news and wire services. He reported from the scene of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. As an investigative reporter, he focuses on uncovering hidden communities and has written about street gangs and life inside a supermax prison, the hidden world of government lobbying, and a white-collar criminal network built around a drug testing lab. He lives in Atlanta.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams (January 11, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419756362
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419756368
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 50 ratings

About the author

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Chris Joyner

Chris Joyner

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Chris Joyner is an investigative reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he writes about politics, political extremism, government corruption and campaign finance. He has degrees in history from the University of West Georgia and the University of Southern Mississippi. He lives in Atlanta.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
50 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched and informative. It provides a detailed view of racism at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era in a small town. The author expertly places the events into a larger context, putting the local events in perspective.

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Scholastic contentRacial justiceStorytelling
4 customers mention "Scholastic content"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's well-sourced journalism and storytelling. They say the author does an excellent job placing the case in the context of profound change. The book documents the legal and social injustice faced by the subject.

"...The author does an excellent job placing this case in the context of profound change in post-war Georgia...." Read more

"This book deserves national recognition. Meticulously researched, it documents the legal and social injustice faced by African Americans in the..." Read more

"...does an exceptionally good job of walking the line between well-sourced journalism and great storytelling...." Read more

"First Class Journalism on Second-Rate Justice..." Read more

3 customers mention "Racial justice"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a detailed view of racism at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era in small towns. They appreciate the meticulous research that documents the legal and social injustice faced by African Americans.

"...Fears of international communism, racial justice, the growth of suburbia are woven into the narrative quite effectively...." Read more

"...Meticulously researched, it documents the legal and social injustice faced by African Americans in the Deep South in the late 40’s and early 1950’s..." Read more

"An amazingly detailed view of racism at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era in small town Georgia...." Read more

3 customers mention "Storytelling"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the story well-told by veteran journalist Chris Joyner. They appreciate the details of the courtroom drama and how he expertly puts the events, which are local, into a broader context.

"...racial justice, the growth of suburbia are woven into the narrative quite effectively. I enjoyed reading it very much." Read more

"...And, he expertly puts the events, which are very much local, into the broader context of the times in which they occurred...." Read more

"...This story is an incredible example of the ways that racism affected every part of the justice system in the South." Read more

More than a true crime story
5 out of 5 stars
More than a true crime story
The author recounts the story of an unsolved 1948 murder of a popular young veteran and the attempted rape of his date. And, he expertly puts the events, which are very much local, into the broader context of the times in which they occurred. Clarence Henderson, a Black sharecropper arrested more than a year after the crime on very thin evidence, was convicted and sentenced to death three times and three times the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction. As you read, you see how the case gained the attention of Civil Rights leaders, including future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. This is an important story well told by veteran journalist Chris Joyner.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Edgar H. Wynn, Jr.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment of the South in the middle of the 20th century
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    In 1969 I left my birthplace in rural southeast Georgia to attend college in Carrollton and it became my home for the next 48 years. I heard a small amount about this incident over the years, but nothing very detailed. Reading this book, I discovered that I knew several of the people involved in the case and I had developed friendly relationships with several of them, including close relatives of the victim.
    It requires close attention to detail to follow the time line of the purported murder weapon and who possessed it when but that’s the nature of criminal investigations of that time I’m sure.
    The author does an excellent job placing this case in the context of profound change in post-war Georgia.
    Fears of international communism, racial justice, the growth of suburbia are woven into the narrative quite effectively.
    I enjoyed reading it very much.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reva Ezell
    5.0 out of 5 stars First Class Journalism on Second-Rate Justice
    Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    If you like courtroom dramas and are also a history buff, this is the two-fer for you. Chris Joyner, after what was obviously strenuous and lengthy research, has written a book that is equal parts the story of a Georgia sharecropper’s arrest and three trials, and an in-depth look at mid-century Southern history via a trip to Carrollton, Georgia.
    A white couple are on a date when they are confronted by a man who makes them lie down in a secluded field. When the young woman is told to undress, her story goes, her date jumps up to defend her. She escapes; her date is killed. Nan Turner runs to a farmhouse to report that a man has shot Buddy Stephens. Upon being questioned, she recalls only that the killer “had a Negro sounding voice.”
    Nan’s account is little to go on, and it is many months before a plausible arrest is made. Clarence Henderson is charged, but the evidence is all circumstantial. This is the set-up of the “Three Death Sentences” story, but along the way, readers are treated to the multi-sided world of race relations and judicial realities of the times. These “asides” provide an exquisitely detailed look at such institutions as the NAACP (with Thurgood Marshall pre Supreme Court), The Atlanta Constitution’s Ralph McGill, The Scottsboro Boys, Communism, Big Bethel AME Church, the Three Governors’ (M. E. Thompson, Herman Talmadge, Ellis Arnall) Controversy and 1950s politics, journalism and law in general.
    Joyner has captured the voice of both the times and the people of Carrollton. Local newspaper publisher Stanley Parkman is described as “tall…and he wore spectacles.” Joyner tells us of “a cabal of politicians” and gives us a real, down-home feel for the South he knows well.
    It is fun, especially for those of us who have spent our lives in Atlanta, learning that the deservedly legendary Ralph McGill was not the least bit reluctant to share his opinions in his daily column. He was, in fact, at times a bit of a spoiled brat. We infer from the accounts that it was McGill who was responsible for “unbylined stories” in the paper, reporting tales of prosecutorial misconduct, Communist bullying and judicial nepotism.
    The wrap-up — what becomes of Clarence Henderson after his saga has ended — is no surprise. Henderson, is after all, only a secondary character in this book. The South and its denizens take first place. You might want to skip over some of the highly detailed and lengthy accounts of firearms
    evidence, but don’t let that get in your way of enjoying The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Gary Tanner
    5.0 out of 5 stars More than a true crime story
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    The author recounts the story of an unsolved 1948 murder of a popular young veteran and the attempted rape of his date. And, he expertly puts the events, which are very much local, into the broader context of the times in which they occurred. Clarence Henderson, a Black sharecropper arrested more than a year after the crime on very thin evidence, was convicted and sentenced to death three times and three times the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction. As you read, you see how the case gained the attention of Civil Rights leaders, including future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. This is an important story well told by veteran journalist Chris Joyner.
    Customer image
    Gary Tanner
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    More than a true crime story

    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
    The author recounts the story of an unsolved 1948 murder of a popular young veteran and the attempted rape of his date. And, he expertly puts the events, which are very much local, into the broader context of the times in which they occurred. Clarence Henderson, a Black sharecropper arrested more than a year after the crime on very thin evidence, was convicted and sentenced to death three times and three times the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction. As you read, you see how the case gained the attention of Civil Rights leaders, including future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. This is an important story well told by veteran journalist Chris Joyner.
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    One person found this helpful
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  • George Franklin
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves to win some awards.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This book deserves national recognition. Meticulously researched, it documents the legal and social injustice faced by African Americans in the Deep South in the late 40’s and early 1950’s through the lens of one case in rural Georgia. As I lawyer I found the legal wrangling fascinating and illustrative of how politics, social conditions and attitudes directly impact our criminal Justice system. If you are looking for an informative enjoyable read this book is for you.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Donna Woolf
    5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opening view of racism in Georgia
    Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    An amazingly detailed view of racism at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era in small town Georgia. It is so much more than just the story of a murder trial. It gives a glimpse of how racism permeated society, law enforcement and politics. It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the history of how we came to need major anti-racism legislation in our country today.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Jay M
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptionally Told Tale
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    It’s rare to read a nonfiction book that leaves you thinking (repeatedly) “There’s just no way this is real.” This book does an exceptionally good job of walking the line between well-sourced journalism and great storytelling.

    The best part for me was the way the book weaves between the broader context of the times and the incredible detail of the courtroom drama. This story is an incredible example of the ways that racism affected every part of the justice system in the South.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Only one bright setting
    Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2022
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    Reading had no adjustment
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  • Toby Miller
    5.0 out of 5 stars History Brought to Life
    Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Great read of a snapshot of history in Georgia and race. The blatant and up front manipulation of a murder case to pin on a man with zero evidence was startling.
    2 people found this helpful
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