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aReportercJairience(EDITOR’S NOTE: The fol-lkevs, etc. were put In manila! from the outside except at meal- A third held toilet articleslowing story by reporter Mich- envelopes, and given to a man time.ael B. Smith of the Pine Bluff who stood inside a locked wire One wall of the cell was con-was the one who crete. The other was a metaltoothbrush, shaving equipment and such— and food —cerealwith pieces of weiner and too short, strands of spaghetti floating init.uaCommercial outlines his im- cage. He pressions of the 30 hours he opened and closed the doors.1 partition, which separated our spent in jail after he and an- We were permitted to make cell from the one next to it. other reporter were cited for telephone calls. There were six beds—two oncontempt of court. The two had We had no sooner been put the steel side and four on tbe refused to disclose news in Cell Number 1, the closest concrete side. These were sim-sources who had sworn them one to the cage than we had ply metal sheets which jutted to confidence. After being free our first visitors — reporters, I oui from the wall.Steel bars formed the backfor three days, he was again photographers and cameramen, jailed on the charge when the The turnkey asked us if we wall. Behind the bars was astate Supreme Court refused to wanted to hold a press con- corridor, and across from thatiference. was the wall of the building.review the case.)By MICHAEL B. SMITH of The Commercial StaffWe hurriedly drafted a joint We could see through two bar-statement while our colleagues, red and screened windows toUntil Wednesday, March 22, set up their cameras and mic-! the railroad tracks and the Ao-boxes, instant coffee, powdered soup, cookies and candy.Near the front of the cell was a stall shower, a sink, and a toilet. That's a euphemism. It was a mere hole in the porcelain. with out any sort of seat. The sink, which ran cold water only, was operated by pushing a metal button. There was always a great shoosh and a rattling of pipes when the button was pushed.It's supposed to be spaghetti,” Walker said He told us that a trustv wouldIt was clear that either my fee* or my shoulders were gw-ing to be cold. I moved the blanket back and forth allthrough the night. When Icome around later and ask ifwe wanted to send out to a grocery store for something Walker said most of his food came from the outside.Walker made us some Instant coffee, and I ate my sugar doughnut We spent the next couple of hours talking to Walker. He showed us news-awoke the next morning, I was burled up like a cat, hugging the dirty little brown pillow which was the only other linen provided.Breakfast, soggy cereal and doughnuts, had come at 7. but we staved In bed and did notad my ideas about what a jail rophones in a conference room, kansas River outside.should look like had come from Then we held the conference, j We had only one cellmate— watching old George Raft mov- The sheriff was present, and James Dean Walker, 26, con-be asked us if we were sure victed of the 1963 murder of ales.♦ * ★My bed didn’t have a mattress, so Baker and I sat onhis, was directly across fromWalker’s. On Walker's TV set. we watched ourselves on the 6paper clippings about his case, transcripts of his trails, and his bullet scars.eat It. Walker got up and shoved it hack through the door about7 30, when they came to pickit up.The Pulaski County jail was we knew what we were doing I North Little Rock policeman, o’clock news. Then the visitorsExcept for a short time on Death Row at Tucker State — . _ _ _ ^entirely faithful to these ideas. We said we were.It looked like a jail in a movie. How Jack Baker of the Ar-began coming.All the fuss and televisionHe was convicted of shootinga policeman in the heart. The policeman shot him five times in the bodv with a .33-caliberLater in the morning, we got up, washed and shaed, anddressed in the only clothes we had About 11, we had anotherThen thepress conference Prison Farm, W7alker had livedkansas Gazette and I came to was held. It was not a pleasant i in the cell for nearly fourspend nearly 30 hours there is experience. Lights I was used straight years while his caseto standing behind now shone has been on appeal.now a well-known story.Judge William J. Kirby sen- in mv eyes. I was used to ask-tenced us to indefinite terms in the county jail without bond. He said we could get out when we told the grand jury what it wanted to know.He had made quite a coming the questions, now I was fortable place out of it. Heequipment that accompaniedour arrival had apparently impressed our jailers, and tbey allowed us telephone calls and visitors throughout our stay. Our first visitors were repistol. Walker maintained that he had not shot his gun at all.conference with the lawyers. Our lawyers had us signand poured forth all the details of his complicated case Walker was full of talk. Hesome papers, and told us they would try to get Judge Kirby to set bail that afternoon. Welater learned that the Judgeused all the bunks except hisanswering them.After a session which lasted as shelves for his belongings,about 15 minutes, we were but he quickly cleared bunks taken back to our cell. It was for us, shook hands, and intro-So we found ourselves walk- a small, rectangular room, duced himself, ing from the courthouse to the about eight feet wide and 12 The cell was kept immacu-county jail, in the company of feet long. The entrance was late. A clothesline ran acrossa deputy sheriff, and a couple secured by a steel door. There the back wall, below it, on a of handcuffed gentlemen we was a narrow glass window cardboard box, rested a smallnear the top of the door, which television set. A radio, a pheno-could be covered by a steel graph and records were set onOnce inside the electric dou- plate. one upper bunk, together withble-doors of the jailhouse, we Near the bottom of the door books and magazines. On an-porters from the Gazette, and a Little Rock friend of TheCommercial’s executive editor. We were assured that lawyers were already working for us, and that we had the support of our papers. That was very good to hear.may have been trying to impress a couple of newspaper reporters with his innocence. I am more inclinced to thinkwas out of town that dav, ona bird-hunting trip.We spent the afternoon in the cell. No one came to see usthat he was just lonely, since he had talked with no one butall afternoon and the noveltvhis jailers and his lawyers for months.of being in jail was beginning to wear off We listened to our-did r.ot see again.Our first look at prison food came when three tin plates were shoved through the slot in the door. Thev held twoThe jailer finally brought me a mattress about 11. It was clean Mavbe even new. We watched television, read and talked until about three in tbe morning. Then we slept.I had onlv one blanket and«olves on the radio every time the news came onWalker set up his phonographand played some Nancy Wilson records. We read, talked and1dozed Walker had two kindsof literature in his cellBible-slices of bread each, a freshwere perfunctorily frisked, and was an opening through which other, several pairs of freshly asked to make lists of our we got our meals. This slot shined shoes were lined up valuables. Watches, money, was kept closed and locked against the wall.sugar doughnut, and a tin bowl full of the mam course.IThis was a glutinous red soupsince the windows were open to the outside, it was drafty in the cell. I doubled the blanket for warmth, and this made itstudy tracts and Playboy magazines He had centerfold nudescomplishing a very great deal, getting the results you want. Get day's duties cleared upquickly. Then you can be with romantic attachment.Handle own affairs quietly. Be 1 iiiiPiiiniiiiliiiininiHiiPM^very much on the practical side.LEO (July 22 to Aug. 21)Avoid higher-ups early in day since thev are not in a goodearJM• • *sists on wearing brush rollers in her hair when she retiresPISCES (Feb. 20 to Mar. 20 mood, but later you find theyGet your most personal aims clarified in vour mind and thencontact the persons involved and state your desires. A close tie can give you very constructive ideas. Follow' through on them.IF YOUR CHILD IS BORNappreciate your finest attributes. They do much to help you get ahead faster. Forget business and enjoy yourself tonight.Commercials are Stupid(ifcNiniBt syndicate Inc jaaianranevery night. Not only do I find this extremely repulsive looking, but occasionally Iwill get a brush roller in theeye.I have told her I don't likeIher coming to bed with those things in her hair, but she continues to do so.hung on the wall over the sink. He changed the pictures, he said, at regular intervals.Bottv mv wife, came for a visit late in the afternoon. Baker's fiance—who had flown in from Memphis — was with her. They made plans to stay overnight in Little Rock, and it began to look as if we were going to spend another night injail.Sometime after that the radiocarried a statement from Gov.TODAYhe, or she, will beVIRGO (Aug. 22 to Sept 22) New ideas and projects can beTell me. Abbv, why a wo-one of those fascinating young ones who has sufficient vision tomade workable, but they re-DEAR ABBY: Mav I savknow how to put ideas on apractical basis. There is alsoquire further study before this is possible. Get added data youneed. Don’t permit that new ac-tho Qhilitv in norcouoro in thicquamtance to frighten you. al-something about the idiocy of television commercials, especially those directed to the American housewife?a “powerful” detergent Mother cuts the kid s shirt in halffman would present herself to her husband in such hideousWinthrop Rockefeller indicatingthat he was sympathetic withour standWalker told us not to worrv.with a shiny scissors, washes one half the shirt in “BrandX” and the other half in theget-up every night in order to look good for the people at the office?We had, he said, too manv important people on our side toDo the ‘'ad” DeoDle reallv IPUZZLEDnvan m*77i Fin* r*.stay in jail very long.
Newspaper Details
Blytheville Courier News
Blytheville, Arkansas, US
Sat, Apr 01, 1967
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary D.
NA, NA 01 Feb 2023
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