TENNESSEE BOY & DAD INDICTED FOR MURDER ONE
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) On August 14, 1924, eleven year old Roy Shields and his father, Thomas S. Shields, "were indicted here (in Knoxville)."
Roy Shields is charged with murder in the first degree* and his dad is charged as an accessory.
The boy confessed to shooting a neighbor, Mrs. Susan Hicks, "because she pulled up our potatoes."
According to The Washington Times, "it is the first time in the criminal history of Knox County that a child so young has been indicted for first degree murder."
*first degree is the most serious level of murder charges involving pre-meditated & intentional killings.
JFK+50
Having been born and raised and still living in Knoxville, Tennessee, this story just leaped out at me, particularly since it appears on the front page of The Washington Times published one hundred years ago today.
Ironically, my Dad named Roy, living in South Knox County at that time, would have been ten months old.
Knoxville certainly has had its share of violence over its history, but this episode has to be one of the most bizarre.
SOURCE
"Boy, 11, Indicted As Slayer, Father As Accessory," The Washington Times, August 14, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
