THE TRIAL OF ALEX HENSON

<p>The Trial of Alex Henson contains the actual transcript of a high profile criminal case</p><p>tried in an East Texas town in 1953. Henson was accused of a late-night burglary of</p><p>the private residence of a prominent physician and assaulting that physician's wife</p><p>with a gun while the doctor was away on an emergency call. </p><p><br></p><p>Henson was Black and his alleged victim was white. </p><p><br></p><p>The case stirred the emotions of both the white and the Black communities. </p><p><br></p><p>The whites were outraged that a Black man had allegedly</p><p>committed this vicious attack on a highly respected lady in the community. Their</p><p>outrage was matched by a high level of skepticism in the Black community that</p><p>Henson was the one who committed it. </p><p><br></p><p>The indictment charged Henson with burglary of a private residence at night with </p><p>intent to commit rape. The trial had the intrigue of having a highly skilled local defense </p><p>attorney as the special prosecutor hired by the doctor and a former District Attorney of </p><p>a large urban county in Texas reportedly hired by the NAACP as the defense attorney. </p><p>The trial transcript is analyzed by a retired trial and appellate judge who attended the trial </p><p>as a 14-year-old boy and gives his unique perspective on the judge the lawyers the jury </p><p>and the evidence in this case.</p>