Convicting the Innocent: Errors of Criminal Justice
(1932)
by Edwin M. Borchard
Case #43
Lonzo Thornton
OHIO
Louie Parkalab was walking down one of the less frequented
streets of Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, on October 6, 1926, when he was
suddenly confronted by two husky young negroes. They demanded that he turn
over his money. Parkalab, a recent arrival in the United States from one of
the countries of central Europe, was not entirely familiar with this
procedure, and started arguing with the colored men about not having any
money. Parkalab's remonstrance was stopped almost at once by a blow from one
of the men, which dazed him; and before anyone could hurry to the scene of
the assault, Parkalab had been relieved of twenty dollars and an insurance
policy, which he was carrying with him for safety. When assistance arrived,
Parkalab excitedly directed his rescuers by motions, and in his native
language, toward two fleeing figures disappearing into the darkness.
A nearby policeman soon received the alarm and, sighting a running figure in
the shadows of some buildings, started in pursuit. After many duckings and
turnings, threading in and out of dark alleys and vacant lots, the policeman
finally caught a negro, and arrested him. The arrested man said that he
"hadn't done nothing," but he was told to tell that to the judge. Louie
Parkalab definitely identified the suspect as one of the men who had taken
his money, whereupon the suspect was placed in the local jail. It turned out
that he was a negro well known in the community as "Ivory," his full name,
according to official records, being James Ivory. There was no doubt but
that he was one of the assailants. All trace of the other negro was lost,
but the police were on the lookout for any suspicious characters.
The following morning the jail tender was greatly surprised when a strange
negro appeared at the jail and asked, very meekly, to see Ivory. When asked
why he wanted to see him, he said that he was after his overcoat, which
Ivory had borrowed. In reply to other questions, he said that he had been in
Middletown only a few months, and that he had met Ivory soon after arriving
in town. He admitted that he had seen Ivory on the evening before, and that
it was then that he had lent his overcoat. When he learned that Ivory was in
jail, he came to get the coat back.
The jail attendant told the visitor to wait a few minutes and he would see
what could be done for him.
Hurried calls were sent out to the detectives and other officers to come to
the jail. When they arrived, new questions were put to this stranger who
admitted knowing Ivory. He said that his name was Lonzo Thornton; that,
although he was born in Albany, Georgia, he had lived for the past thirteen
years in St. Petersburg, Florida; and that he had but recently come to
Middletown to be with some of his family. He was questioned closely
regarding his whereabouts on the previous evening, and he stated that he had
spent most of it with his family at their home at 813 Seventeenth Avenue.
When he was accused by detectives of having robbed Louie Parkalab, Thornton
was dumbfounded. He denied that he had stolen anything – that he had done
anything wrong. He was asked how it was that James Ivory, who had committed
the robbery with another, had his overcoat. Somewhat confused, Thornton
repeated that he had seen Ivory early in the evening and that, as he himself
was going home and Ivory was "stepping out," he had loaned the overcoat to
him.
The detectives were unconvinced by this story and decided to hold Thornton
for further examination. Louie Parkalab was called and, out of a group of
suspects, picked Thornton as the one who had helped Ivory attack him. With
that, Thornton's fate was sealed. He was bound over with Ivory for
investigation by the Grand Jury. On January 13, 1927, they were indicted,
and were brought up for joint trial the following month before Judge
Clarence Murphy of the Butler County Circuit Court. John P. Rogers
prosecuted the case on behalf of the state, presenting the testimony of
Louie Parkalab. It was necessary to have a court interpreter in taking his
testimony. The identification of both defendants, which was again made in
the court room, was positive. Thornton's attorney, Charles F. Higgins,
produced five witnesses (Marion Merchant, Mary Morris, James Ware, Boston
Brown, and Sam Emery – all colored) who corroborated the testimony of
Thornton that he was at home at the time of the robbery. In view of the
reputations of some of these alibi witnesses, notably Boston Brown,
Thornton's position with the jury was not helped. The jury required but a
little time to return a verdict of guilty against both men. On February 15,
1927, they were sentenced to the Ohio penitentiary on sentences calling for
ten to twenty-five-year terms. The next day, they were entered at the
penitentiary at Columbus under the wardership of Mr. Thomas.
Like many persons who enter the penitentiary, Thornton sullenly asserted his
innocence whenever opportunity presented itself. He was just twenty-three
years old, and getting started in life when he was "sent up."
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In January, 1928, one Simon Williams, alias Baby Ruth Williams, was arrested on other charges and confessed that he was the one who had helped James Ivory hold up the foreigner in Middletown in October, 1926. Confessions of this kind are always examined very critically by the authorities, for experience has proved that many of them are spurious. Williams' confession, however, was corroborated by collateral evidence on so many points, and the resemblance between Williams and Thornton was so striking, that it convinced the officers. Upon a reexamination of all the evidence, it was concluded that Thornton was really innocent of any connection with the crime. The Ohio Board of Clemency recommended that a pardon be granted to Thornton, and this was done by the Governor of Ohio on February 6, 1928. Williams was charged with the crime and convicted.
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Thonton was the victim of unfortunate circumstances. His acquaintance with Ivory, his loan of a coat, the call at the jail at the moment when detectives were looking for Ivory's associate, Parkalab's identification of Thornton, Thornton's resemblance to Williams, the poor character of some of the witnesses who supported Thornton's alibi, the fact that he was tried jointly with Ivory, who was manifestly guilty – these constituted a combination of circumstances too strong to be overcome by the simple truth. The jury preferred to believe Parkalab, upon whose identification alone the prosecution had to rely, rather than the five witnesses who supported Thornton's alibi. But for the confession of Williams, which was so amply fortified as to convince the Ohio police officials and the Board of Clemency of the error committed, Thornton might yet be in the Ohio State Penitentiary at Columbus, assuming that he would have been among those who escaped the fate of the three hundred convicts who were trapped in their cells and burned to death in the fire which destroyed the penitentiary in April, 1930.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. State of Ohio v. Lonzo Thornton, Case No. 8649,
Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio.
2. Acknowledgments: Mr. John P. Rogers, Hamilton, Ohio; Mr. Vivian O.
Robertson, Columbus, Ohio.