Murder in the Peach State: Infamous Murders of Georgia's Past

Bruce L. Jordan's "Murder In The Peach State" is a compelling work and, quite rare in such works, important. This is the first published book, I think, to document something of the Moore's Ford lynchings of 25 July 1946 in Walton County, Georgia. Four adult African-Americans and an unborn child were lynched at Moore's Ford that day. They were Roger and Dorothy Malcolm and George and Mae Dorsey. Dorothy was said to have been seven months pregnant at the time. The victims were not merely shot dead. According to the coroner's report, the bodies were mutilated by over sixty bullets being fired into them. Mr. Jordan has rightly mentioned Eugene Talmadge and the racial tensions excited by him toward African-Americans during 1946. That Eugene Talmadge was in large measure responsible for the lynchings at Moore's Ford is documented by his words and actions during his 1946 campaign for governor. Mr. Jordan's record of George Dorsey's splendid military service during World War II is touching and appropriate. However, it is Mr. Jordan's useful additions to the general knowledge of the Moore's Ford lynchings which make his work important. It was not widely known that Roger Malcolm was not immediately charged with the stabbing of Barney Hester. According to Mr. Jordan's account, Roger Malcolm ran back to his home after the fight with Hester. Later that night he was dragged into his yard and there beaten by a group of about ten men. It would appear that it was only at this point that Sheriff E. S. Gordon was notified. He arrested Roger Malcolm for the stabbing of Barney Hester. A second attempt on Roger Malcolm's life, according to Mr. Jordan, took place on 15 July 1946, when a mob came to the jail and demanded that Sheriff E. S. Gordon release Malcolm to them. Gordon refused to do so, and somehow convinced the mob to leave. The information which Johnnie Burdette gave to officials of the NAACP, placing Deputy Sheriff Lewis Howard at Moore's Ford shortly before the lynchings took place, and the fact that there were no records in the sheriff's office showing that Loy Harrison had indeed paid the six-hundred-dollar bond for Roger Malcolm's release from jail, is highly important. Little by little the parts of the complex Moore's Ford puzzle are finding their rightly place. Mr. Jordan's book is helpful. Mr. Jordan's work has also touched the well-known Clinton Adams story. Alas, what Clinton Adams has said would now appears to be quite untrue. During his interview with the FBI, Adams stated that he and Emerson Elder Farmer were at Moore's Ford during the afternoon of 25 July 1946 and saw the lynchings take place. Adams then went on to tell the FBI that his close friend, Emerson Elder Farmer, was never interviewed by the FBI. Emerson Elder Farmer, aged 12, was indeed interviewed by Special Agents of the FBI on 28 July 1946, and he also testified before the grand jury in Athens, Georgia, concerning what he saw during the afternoon of the lynchings. Among other things

Putting the book down was next to impossible! I have known Bruce for nearly ten years through our law enforcement affiliations and can state absolutely that he brings the reader along side the investigators in telling these stories. He doesn't use the infamous "police lingo" but keeps the story in every day language. The stories are gripping and told in a way that makes this book one of our state treasures. Do yourself a favor and get this book. You will not be disappointed!

This is one of those books which I would think of later and then realize, with disappointment, that I had already finished the book. I'll let a little time pass and then read it again. Although I was familiar with some of the stories, I found some interesting items in each of the stories that I didn't know before.

The topic is murder. the cases are real. Murder In The Peach State is an excellently crafted anthology of Georgia homicides. Beginning with Leo Frank, author, Bruce jordan explores eight infamous examples of evil intent. Cases include "The Death Farm: Jasper County", "The Murder of Henry Heinz", The Moores Ford Lynching", "The Black Widow of Macon", "The Old Man And His Money: The Murder of Floyd 'Fuzzy' Hoard", "The Columbus Stocking Strangler", and "Murder On Troublesome Creek". Meticulously researched and well-written, the volume reveals little known details of each investigation. The accused and their victims come to life as the author portrays their personalities and motives. Bruce Jordan is a 21 year veteran detective who heads the Criminal Investigations Division for the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. He is also the author of Death Unexpected, a story of solved and unsolved murders in Fayette County. Reviewer-Anne Jones