On October 1, the Sunday night before the trial date in Cullman, approximately 25 blacks marched from Decatur to Cullman--a 35-mile journey--while 3,000 whites stood on the side of the road, teasing and shouting obscenities. Although no one was physically hurt in the short exchange of words that occurred, the ugly tone was set.
The trial, which lasted 9 full court days, involved the first rape. Mims' assistant, a lawyer from the NAACP, George E. Hairston of New York, came into a head-on confrontation with Cullman County Judge Jack Riley. Judge Riley told Hairston at one point in the trial, "We may yet have to send you to law school." At times during the trial, Riley would order Hairston to remained confined to his seat and not move. Riley also overruled every objection that Mims and Hairston made, and had the jury under a suppression motion--meaning that the all-white jury received information from the judge. Mims raised a case tried in another court in Georgia where the defendent had an IQ of 61 and the court ruled the aptitude was too low for the defendent to determine the waiver of his rights after his arrest. Hines has an IQ of 39. The judge overruled Mims' point. The rape victim--who weighs over 200 pounds to Hines' 120--said the assailant wore a sock over his face. The jury found Hines guilty and the judge sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment. Hines grinned as the cameras flashed.
THE CASE is due to begin appeal after the mandatory 30-day wait plus the two weeks for transcripts. The move now is to try to prove that Hines' was incapable of waiving his rights at the time of his arrest. Mims is attempting to obtain changes of venue for the other trials--the rape and robbery of mid-March and the rape of May 10--but state law requires that once a change of venue has been requested and honored the case cannot be moved again.
In the last two rapes the assailant drove a car--one was a stick-shift--returned the woman to her home, backed the car up and abandoned it. Steve Wynn, who helped put up Hines' bond, said "He can't even steer a bicycle."
The SCLC and KKK are still in Decatur. The day after Hines' sentencing, 19 blacks marched in protest. Mims said Cottonreader's leadership may have turned people away; Cottonreader commented that "God had a reason for picking Tommy Hines." SCLC President Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery arrived in Decatur last night, his second visit. KKK Imperial Wizard Bill Wilkenson will be in nearby Guntersville tonight.
Tommy Lee Hines is unaware of the publicity around him. The Hines family wants the ordeal to be over. Tommy doesn't speak much anymore. He just stares and grins.