Tyler Goodwin Bridge, Montgomery County, Alabama
In 1957, Willie Edwards, a 25-year-old husband and father of three was stopped by four Klansmen, while at work as a driver for Winn-Dixie. The men bear Edwards and forced him at gunpoint to jump from the Tyler Goodwin Bridge into the Alabama River.
In 1976, Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley attempted to try the case, but a judge threw it out twice. Baxley had found Raymond Britt, one of the three Klansmen who murdered Edwards, who confessed in exchange for immunity, and implicated Henry Alexander. Judge Frank Embry ruled: "Merely forcing a person to jump from a bridge does not naturally and probably lead to the death of such person."
In 1976, Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley attempted to try the case, but a judge threw it out twice. Baxley had found Raymond Britt, one of the three Klansmen who murdered Edwards, who confessed in exchange for immunity, and implicated Henry Alexander. Judge Frank Embry ruled: "Merely forcing a person to jump from a bridge does not naturally and probably lead to the death of such person."
