On January 22nd, 1976, Gordon B. Howell, Jr. was murdered during a robbery of Tiny’s Grocery, located at Bridges Crossroads near Dawson, Georgia. Dawson is located 21 miles from Plains, Georgia, home to the then president Jimmy Carter.
On December 19, 1977, after over a year of imprisonment, time in the national spotlight, and contentious pretrial hearings; District Attorney John Irwin announced that he was dropping all charges against the five defendants.
This black and white film, Life and Death: Dawson, Georgia, was aired on PBS a week before the trial was to start. The film investigates the attitudes in the community of Dawson and the circumstances in which the crime took place.
The filmmakers located a former member of the Dawson police who was present during the interrogation of the suspects and who details the forced confessions. (Source: PBS)
Filmmakers: Ron Kanter and Andrew Dintenfass
For more information on the Dawson murder case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_…
https://exhibits.library.gsu.edu/curr…