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The Trial of Alex Henson contains the actual transcript of a high profile criminal case
tried in an East Texas town in 1953. Henson was accused of a late-night burglary of
the private residence of a prominent physician and assaulting that physician's wife
with a gun while the doctor was away on an emergency call.
Henson was Black and his alleged victim was white.
The case stirred the emotions of both the white and the Black communities.
The whites were outraged that a Black man had allegedly
committed this vicious attack on a highly respected lady in the community. Their
outrage was matched by a high level of skepticism in the Black community that
Henson was the one who committed it.
The indictment charged Henson with burglary of a private residence at night with
intent to commit rape. The trial had the intrigue of having a highly skilled local defense
attorney as the special prosecutor, hired by the doctor, and a former District Attorney of
a large urban county in Texas, reportedly hired by the NAACP, as the defense attorney.
The trial transcript is analyzed by a retired trial and appellate judge who attended the trial
as a 14-year-old boy and gives his unique perspective on the judge, the lawyers, the jury,
and the evidence in this case.
About the author
Donald R. Ross was born and reared in Rusk County, Texas. He graduated from Henderson High School and Kilgore College. He also received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Texas and Arkansas. He is also licensed to practice in the federal courts of the EasternDistrict of Texas and in the Northern District of Texas. Less than two years out of law school, he was elected the County and District Attorney of his home county. After serving ten years in that official capacity, he was appointed by Governor Bill Clements to be the presiding judge of the Fourth JudicialDistrict of Texas. He was subsequently elected to three four-year terms as District Judge, without opposition. Following this tenure, he was elected from an 18 county district to the Sixth Court of Appeals in Texarkana where he retired from his judicial career after ten years on that appellate bench. Following his public service career, he joined the law firm of Haltom and Doan in Texarkana and continues his association with that firm to the present.Between college and law school, Judge Ross served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer to Thailand. He is married to Diane Owen Ross and they have two sons, Ryan and Owen, and five wonderful grandchildren.
