Story of a Shootout from 1951

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Bet you thought shootouts like this only happened in the old west. This happened at a house about 3 or 4 miles from the house I was born just outside Boaz, AL. It is one of the only stories I remember hearing from my childhood. I was on 4 years old when it happened. A writer for the Gadsden Times here in AL wrote this up for last Sundays paper.

One other thing I remember my Dad telling me. Kilpatrick had told the sheriff not to come out he would go to the sheriff's office the next day. They just couldn't wait and let him come in on his own.

MIKE GOODSON: Murder or self defense? Truth is out there
By Mike Goodson
Times Correspondent

Published: Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 7:23 p.m.
One of history’s mysteries unfolded May 17, 1951, and the facts may never be known.

Marshall County Sheriff Frank Boyles, Deputy Washington Bennett and Boaz Police Chief Leonard Floyd drove to the farm of Aubrey Kilpatrick to arrest the farmer and bootlegger on an assault to commit murder charge. Kilpatrick had assaulted a tenant farmer who had not shown up for work for several days. When the officers arrived, gunfire broke out and the law enforcement officers killed Kilpatrick. When the shooting began, his son, James Kilpatrick, emerged from the farmhouse and picked up his father’s rifle and shot and killed the three officers. Marshall County Deputy Sheriff James Lang, who was in the house when the gunfire erupted, was wounded. He was the only officer to live through the gunfight.

James was arrested along with tenant farmers Frank Upton and Tom Goble for the killings. They were charged with ambushing the officers. Upton and Goble were cleared of any involvement in the shootings. James was tried five times in the fatal shootings. Billy Kilpatrick, 16, had been picked up by the three slain officers and was in the car when the gunfire began. He testified that one officer fired the first shots while he was still in the car. When Aubrey Kilpatrick fell, James picked up his father’s rifle and began firing from the hip, not knowing his younger brother was in the car. A variety of charges were leveled at James during the five trials. Most of the evidence favored the young defendant and the claim that he fired in self defense. The most damaging evidence was Lang’s testimony that Aubrey Kilpatrick emerged from the farmhouse with a carbine blazing.

An agreement was reached in October 1953 for James to accept a 10-year sentence at Draper Prison in Elmore. In all, James served a four years — one year in the Marshall County Jail and three years at Draper Prison.

On Dec. 24, 1957, 23-year-old James received a parole. When he returned home, he was the man of the house. He would help his mother raise her eight other children. During the time of the five trials, Elizabeth Kilpatrick spent more than $27,000 trying to prove her son’s innocence.

James and Ann Scott married on June 15, 1958. Their first child was born Jan. 1, 1961. James became involved in horses and a local saddle club. In 1967, he was saved and joined Whitesboro Baptist Church. In later years, he was involved in a Christian radio program. He died Nov. 25, 2009. Local author Dana Maria Hill wrote “Blazing Guns, Wild Horses & The Grace of God” about James.

Many articles have been written about the night of the shootings, but Hill’s story is different. It is the event as it happened through the eyes of a 16-year-old boy watching as his father was gunned down. Hill will be signing books from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Gadsden Christian Book Store.

Mike Goodson is a correspondent for The Gadsden Times. Email him at gtdbear@aol.com.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

It is amazing that something that happened 60 years ago is still talked about and now a book has been written about it.

[BudMan]

Quite a story. I've never heard anything about it.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Dave, I am thinking of buying the ladies book. She did extensive interviews so it should be factual.