Draft:James Willie "Bo" Cochran
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James Willie “Bo” Cochran (born November 29, 1942) was an African-American man from Bessemer, Alabama, who is known for his false conviction and later acquittal as a part of a robbery and murder in Jefferson County, Alabama. Cochran was sentenced to death and held on the state's death row for 19 years before finally being released in 1997. Cochran is also notable for appearances in media such as “Death in Dixie” as well as numerous interviews with well-known attorney Richard S. Jaffe, who was a part of the team that freed Cochran.
Willie James "Bo" Cochran | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 29, 1942 |
| Died | July 15, 2016 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | Being wrongfully convicted of murder |
Murder of Stephen Jerome Ganey
[edit]Around 10 PM on November 4, 1976, James Willie Cochran robbed the A&P Grocery Store in Jefferson County, Alabama, demanding all the money from the store safe and cash registers be placed in a grocery sack. At the time of the robbery, an assistant manager, a store clerk, and several customers were inside the store.
Stephen Jerome Ganey, the store’s assistant manager, followed Cochran out of the store, which Cochran noticed. As Cochran ran from the store, he and Ganey engaged in a ‘stop and go’ motion, where they would run briefly before Cochran would stop, point a gun at Ganey, and then continue to run.
Shortly after the robbery, police quickly surrounded the area around the A&P looking for Cochran. Within twenty minutes of police arriving, a gunshot was heard. Soon after the gunshot, police found Cochran within a half-mile of the store. Cochran was seized with $250 with an A&P band wrapped around it, and he had just tossed away a revolver.
Later that night, Stephen Jerome Ganey’s body was found under a trailer in a nearby mobile home park. There were no eyewitnesses to the actual murder of Ganey.
Trial and Sentencing
[edit]In August of 1977, Cochran was tried for the first time for the murder of Stephen Jerome Ganey. This trial ended in a mistrial as the state’s key eyewitnesses lacked credibility, with one eyewitness being under psychiatric care and the other failing to identify Cochran outside the courtroom. In January of 1978, Cochran was again tried for a capital offense, this time being convicted. His conviction was reversed on appeal of Beck, supra (Beck v. Alabama). In March of 1982, Cochran was tried a third time and convicted. The record contains no plea of former jeopardy filed at any time. The record also does not show any reason for the prosecutor's failure to disclose the information which was one of the reasons for granting the mistrial.
Death Row
[edit]Cochran was held on death row for nearly 19 years, being held at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. During his time on death row, Cochran maintained his innocence, swearing that he did not fire his gun. At this time, Cochran also underwent a religious conversion, becoming a born-again Christian.
References
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