Biographies | Show notes | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Other listening options 

Peerless explains how Charles Wakefield’s jury came together and the disconnect between the jury that sent him to Death Row and the peers he knew before his conviction. For more, read the show notes or listen to the episode above.

Just discovering Murder, etc.? This story is meant to be heard in the order of episodes. Make sure you start with Episode 1.




the JURY

When prosecutors and Charles Wakefield Jr.’s defense attorneys picked the jury for the trial, they began with 31 jurors.

Judge Frank Eppes disqualified four jurors because they said they didn’t believe in the death penalty and would never consider it as a punishment. Under the law, a juror’s refusal to consider capital punishment disqualified him or her to serve on a jury in which the death penalty was a possible punishment.

Here’s a quick review of each of the 31 potential jurors.

First Middle Last DOB RACE
Jimmy Ray Biddle 11/23/1945 W
James Lewis Burgin 11/14/1937 W
Gary Tucker Cheek Jr. 7/29/1950 W
Sula Mae Cox 6/2/31 W
Terry Donald Elledge 10/5/1949 W
Iris Clardy Ellis 3/13/1936 W
Louise O. Eubanks 7/28/1934 W
William Nelson Poe Sr. 5/27/1921 W
Dale Dawson Sharpton 4/4/1944 W
Jesse L. Wallace 1/26/1904 W
Miriam Wieckowski 6/26/1920 W
Myra P. Winchester 11/8/1925 W
Benjamin W. Adams 9/2/1909 W
Peggy Jo Carr 2/15/1933 W
Robert E. Farrar 7/16/1909 W
Margaret Carroll Gamble 1/21/1907 W
Lillian Lee Knight Garraux 6/14/1901 W
Lois L. Harris W
Margaret Alice Holloway 1926 W
Algie D. Hooper 10/24/1910 W
Roger Kerwin McCrary 4/18/1931 W
Fred Miller 12/25/1917 W
Elizabath K. Mitchell 7/10/1916 W
Ralph W. Mullinax 3/26/1912 W
Leroy Pyles 9/2/1912 B
Annie Mae Craig Richards 9/28/1908 W
William Grayson Roddy 7/17/1906 W
Margaret A. Rodgers 8/22/1914 W
Bob Oliver Smith Jr. U
James H. Ward W
Mary W. White 8/13/1924 W

Judge Eppes disqualified Roddy, Smith, Miller, and White because they refused to consider capital punishment as an option for punishment. He excused Peggy Carr because she had two children whose care for which she was responsible.

After seating the jury and hearing an afternoon of testimony, Eppes also excused Elizabeth Mitchell, 54, after she left her court-ordered sequestration to look after her dogs.

Wakefield’s defense attorneys used their strikes to dismiss 11 jurors.



Map showing jurors’ homes in relation to traditionally black neighborhoods in Greenville

Prosecutor Billy Wilkins dismissed two jurors, Margaret Holloway and Leroy Pyles. Holloway initially said she didn’t believe in the death penalty, but upon further questioning said she would consider it. Pyles initially struggled to understand Judge Eppes’ questions, and Solicitor Wilkins excused him.

Pyles was the only qualified juror who was also black.

Ultimately, Judge Eppes seated 13 jurors (12 jurors and an alternate). After Eppes excused Mitchell to take care of her dogs, the jury was made up of six white men and six white women.

In the graphic below, you’ll find their names and ages.

willie EARLE

In 1947, Greenville attempted to prosecute 31 men, most of them cab drivers, for the lynching of Willie Earle.

Earle had been accused of killing Thomas Watson Brown. Within 24 hours of Earle’s arrest, dozens of men snatched him from the Pickens County Jail and killed him.

In a high-profile trial, a jury acquitted all 31 defendants.



Press release from then-Gov. Strom Thurmond condemning Willie Earle lynching

Be a Murder, etc. source

We protect our sources because…our sources fuel our story. Can you help? Visit our contact page for safe, secure ways to contact us.

Support Murder, etc.

If you believe Murder, etc. is doing important work, please consider supporting its efforts with a donation to help cover the costs of research and production.

Donate any amount on PayPal or, if you prefer Venmo, you can quickly send your donation to @MurderETC.

If you’d prefer to offer your support while joining Amateurs ETC, visit the Murder, etc. Patreon page today to help the investigation continue.


This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Screen-Shot-2019-03-05-at-12.14.27-AM-150x150.png


Show notes:

Peerless reveals how the jury in the Charles Wakefield, Jr. trial came together and discusses the racial dynamics of Greenville, South Carolina, in 1976.

Wakefield and his family discuss their lives prior to Wakefield’s arrest and conviction.

Greenville city leaders and historians explain the city’s past and future.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Screen-Shot-2019-03-05-at-12.14.27-AM-150x150.png

Featured interviews in Peerless

One comment on “Episode 24: Peerless

  1. Amber Galea says:

    Fascinating school integration story, thank you! GCS is still reeling with racism today. GCS teachers punish students by giving them “referrals.” Teachers were told at a training this year, that last school year teachers gave more referrals than the entire county student population. Over 70,000 referrals. And you know which students got those referrals. The district is asking teachers to do better, but providing no anti-racism training.

Comments are closed.

Top