Andrew J. Hudspeth

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Death and Executed
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:	1886
Year Convicted:	1891
Year Cleared:
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Arkansas
County or Region of Crime:	Marion
City of Crime:	Yellville
Result:	Executed before alleged victim found alive
Summary of Case:	"Andrew J. Hudspeth was twice wrrongly convicted of murdering George Watkins, his lover's husband on December 9, 1886 near Yellville, Arkansas. Watkins' body wasn't found after he disappeared, but his wife Rebecca Watkins confessed after a lengthy interrogation that Hudspeth murdered her husband to clear the way so that they could be married. He was first convicted on January 28, 1888 based on Rebecca's testimony and he was sentenced to death. His conviction was overturned by the Arkansas Supreme Court because the trial judge improperly excluded testimony undermining the credibility of Rebecca Watkins' testimony. (Hudspeth v. State, 50 Ark. 534 (1888)) Hudspeth was convicted in 1891 after a retrial and again sentenced to death. He was hanged at Harrison, Arkansas on December 30, 1892. Six months later Hudspeth's lawyer W. F. Pace located the alleged victim, George Watkins, alive living on a farm in Kansas. After she testified at Hudspeth's first trial Rebecca died of rheumatism on April 26, 1888 while she was in custody and awaiting trial for her indictment of being an accessory to her husband's murder. Andrew Hudspeth, nicknamed Andy, has also been identified as Charles Hudspeth. Hudspeth's conviction was not overturned by an Arkansas court nor has he been granted a pardon by Arkansas' governor."
Conviction Caused By:	"False testimony by the alleged victim's wife Rebecca that Hudspeth had murdered her husband, when he in fact had left her and moved to Kansas."
Innocence Proved By:	"Six months after Hudspeth was hanged, his lawyer located the alleged victim, George Watkins, alive in Kansas."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"The Dead Alive - The Novel, The Case, and Wrongful Convictions, By Rob Warden, Northwestern Univ. Press, 2005, pp. 156-157."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Hudspeth v. State, 50 Ark. 534, 9 S.W. 1 (1888)"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Released by Death, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), April 27, 1888"
Information Location 3:	http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/marion/newspapers/188804.txt
Information Source 4:	"Local Echoings, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), March 30, 1888"
Information Location 4:	http://www.argenweb.net/marion/newspapers/mt-echo-newspaper-1888-03.html
Information Source 5:	"Guilty - So Says the Jury, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), February 3, 1888"
Information Location 5:	http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/marion/newspapers/188802.txt
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Andrew J. Hudspeth

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Death and Executed

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

1886

Year Convicted:

1891

Year Cleared:

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Arkansas

County or Region of Crime:

Marion

City of Crime:

Yellville

Result:

Executed before alleged victim found alive

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"False testimony by the alleged victim's wife Rebecca that Hudspeth had murdered her husband, when he in fact had left her and moved to Kansas."

Innocence Proved By:

"Six months after Hudspeth was hanged, his lawyer located the alleged victim, George Watkins, alive in Kansas."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"The Dead Alive - The Novel, The Case, and Wrongful Convictions, By Rob Warden, Northwestern Univ. Press, 2005, pp. 156-157."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Hudspeth v. State, 50 Ark. 534, 9 S.W. 1 (1888)"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Released by Death, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), April 27, 1888"

Information Location 3:

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/marion/newspapers/188804.txt

Information Source 4:

"Local Echoings, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), March 30, 1888"

Information Location 4:

http://www.argenweb.net/marion/newspapers/mt-echo-newspaper-1888-03.html

Information Source 5:

"Guilty - So Says the Jury, By staff, Mountain Echo (Marion County, AR), February 3, 1888"

Information Location 5:

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/marion/newspapers/188802.txt

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Book Information:

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Book Information (2):

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