Ruby McCollum
Encyclopedia
Ruby McCollum was the subject of a notorious murder trial in 1952. She was convicted of killing Dr. C. Leroy Adams, whom she accused of forcing her to submit to sex and bear his child.
McCollumn was born to Gertrude and William Jackson in Zuber, Florida
. She was the second child and first daughter among her six siblings.
In 1929 McCollum married Sam McCollum and they moved to Nyack, New York
. During the five years that they lived there she delivered a son, Sam, Jr. before the couple relocated to Fort Myers, Florida. It was there that Sam's brother Buck had amassed considerable wealth managing a Bolita
gambling business.
physician and state senator-elect, Dr. C. Leroy Adams. She accused him of forcing her to submit to sex and bear his child. The case received coverage in both the white and black press, and was instrumental in changing attitudes about the practice of "paramour rights", the presumed right of a white man to take a black
woman to whom he was not married as his concubine
.
, despite her assertion that Adams had forced sex upon her and insisted that she bear his child. Her conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Florida Supreme Court on July 20, 1954, which cited Judge Hal W. Adams, the presiding judge, for failing to be present at the jury's inspection of the scene of the crime. The Supreme Court opinion stated in part that, "This is a right that cannot be frittered away by the act of a trial judge in voluntarily absenting himself from the proceeding."
for mental patients at Chattahoochee. In 1974, Frank Cannon, McCollum's lead attorney at her trial, appeal and second trial, visited her in the mental hospital and filed papers to have her released under the Baker Act.
covered the trial for the Pittsburgh Courier
from the fall of 1952 through the early months of 1953, and subsequently wrote a series of articles for the Courier entitled, "The Life Story of Ruby McCollum", which ran in the early months of 1953 following McCollum's conviction. In her reporting for the Courier, Hurston wrote that McCollum's trial sounded the death knell for "paramour rights".
Hurston, who was not present at the appeal or the second trial, collaborated with William Bradford Huie
, who, after investigating the story and attending the appeal and second trial, published Ruby McCollum: Woman in the Suwannee Jail. Huie's book (published in various editions, but expanded in 1964) is the principal account of the case.
In Huie's book, Hurston's notes on the first trial—at which Huie was not present—include the fact that the jury was made up entirely of white men. Hurston also noted that "Ruby was allowed to describe how, about 1948, during an extended absence of her husband, she had, in her home, submitted to the doctor. She was allowed to state that her youngest child was his. Yet thirty-eight times Frank Cannon attempted to proceed from this point; thirty-eight times he attempted to create the opportunity for Ruby to tell her whole story and thus explain what were her motives; thirty-eight times the State objected; and thirty-eight times Judge Adams sustained these objections." Hurston continues that Frank Cannon, frustrated by the persistence of the state prosecuting attorney, turned to the judge and said, "May God forgive you, Judge Adams, for robbing a human being of life in such a fashion."
C. Arthur Ellis, Jr., Ph.D., who published the entire transcript of the trial, stated that some incidents in the case would be considered unacceptable by contemporary standards. These include that Dr. Dillard Workman, who was Adams' medical associate, was also Ruby McCollum's physician for her prenatal care of Adams' child by her, had actively campaigned for Adams during his senatorial race, testified to McCollum's sanity at the trial, conducted Adams' autopsy and testified to that autopsy during the murder trial.
In November, 1980, Al Lee of the Ocala Star Banner interviewed McCollum at the rest home in Silver Springs, Florida where she had retired after leaving Chattahoochee. Lee stated that McCollum's memory of the entire ordeal had faded. The State Mental Hospital at Chattahoochee was known for mis-treatment such as keeping patients on Thorazine and giving electroshock therapy.
McCollumn was born to Gertrude and William Jackson in Zuber, Florida
Zuber, Florida
Zuber is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is located near the intersection of State Road 326 and County Road 25A. Its commerce is supported by its proximity to Interstate 75....
. She was the second child and first daughter among her six siblings.
In 1929 McCollum married Sam McCollum and they moved to Nyack, New York
Nyack, New York
Nyack is a village in the towns of Orangetown and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of South Nyack; east of Central Nyack; south of Upper Nyack and west of the Hudson River, approximately 19 miles north of the Manhattan boundary, it is an inner suburb of New...
. During the five years that they lived there she delivered a son, Sam, Jr. before the couple relocated to Fort Myers, Florida. It was there that Sam's brother Buck had amassed considerable wealth managing a Bolita
Bolita
Bolita , is a type of lottery which was popular in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries in Cuba and among Florida's working class Hispanic, Italian, and black population. In the basic bolita game, 100 small numbered balls are placed into a bag and mixed thoroughly, and bets are taken on which...
gambling business.
Shooting of Dr. C. Leroy Adams
On Sunday morning, August 3, 1952, McCollum shot and killed prominent Live Oak, FloridaLive Oak, Florida
Live Oak is a city in Suwannee County, Florida. The city is the county seat of Suwannee County and is located east of Tallahassee, Florida. The population was 6,480 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,828 ....
physician and state senator-elect, Dr. C. Leroy Adams. She accused him of forcing her to submit to sex and bear his child. The case received coverage in both the white and black press, and was instrumental in changing attitudes about the practice of "paramour rights", the presumed right of a white man to take a black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
woman to whom he was not married as his concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
.
First trial
McCollum was prosecuted by state's attorney Keith Black and convicted of first degree murder on December 20, 1952 and sentenced to deathCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, despite her assertion that Adams had forced sex upon her and insisted that she bear his child. Her conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Florida Supreme Court on July 20, 1954, which cited Judge Hal W. Adams, the presiding judge, for failing to be present at the jury's inspection of the scene of the crime. The Supreme Court opinion stated in part that, "This is a right that cannot be frittered away by the act of a trial judge in voluntarily absenting himself from the proceeding."
Second trial
At the second trial, defense attorneys filed a motion of suggestion of insanity, and upon examination by court appointed physicians, the state attorney (now Randall Slaughter) agreed, and she was declared mentally incompetent and incarcerated for 20 years in the Florida State HospitalFlorida State Hospital
Florida State Hospital is a hospital and mental institution in Chattahoochee, Florida. Established in 1876, it was until 1947 Florida's only state mental institution. It currently has a capacity of 1,042 patients...
for mental patients at Chattahoochee. In 1974, Frank Cannon, McCollum's lead attorney at her trial, appeal and second trial, visited her in the mental hospital and filed papers to have her released under the Baker Act.
Coverage and impact
Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
covered the trial for the Pittsburgh Courier
Pittsburgh Courier
The Pittsburgh Courier was an American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was published from 1907 to 1965. Once the country's most widely circulated Black newspaper, the legacy and influence of the Pittsburgh Courier is unparalleled.A pillar of the Black Press, it rose...
from the fall of 1952 through the early months of 1953, and subsequently wrote a series of articles for the Courier entitled, "The Life Story of Ruby McCollum", which ran in the early months of 1953 following McCollum's conviction. In her reporting for the Courier, Hurston wrote that McCollum's trial sounded the death knell for "paramour rights".
Hurston, who was not present at the appeal or the second trial, collaborated with William Bradford Huie
William Bradford Huie
William Bradford "Bill" Huie was an American journalist, editor, publisher, television interviewer, screenwriter, lecturer, and novelist.-Biography:...
, who, after investigating the story and attending the appeal and second trial, published Ruby McCollum: Woman in the Suwannee Jail. Huie's book (published in various editions, but expanded in 1964) is the principal account of the case.
In Huie's book, Hurston's notes on the first trial—at which Huie was not present—include the fact that the jury was made up entirely of white men. Hurston also noted that "Ruby was allowed to describe how, about 1948, during an extended absence of her husband, she had, in her home, submitted to the doctor. She was allowed to state that her youngest child was his. Yet thirty-eight times Frank Cannon attempted to proceed from this point; thirty-eight times he attempted to create the opportunity for Ruby to tell her whole story and thus explain what were her motives; thirty-eight times the State objected; and thirty-eight times Judge Adams sustained these objections." Hurston continues that Frank Cannon, frustrated by the persistence of the state prosecuting attorney, turned to the judge and said, "May God forgive you, Judge Adams, for robbing a human being of life in such a fashion."
C. Arthur Ellis, Jr., Ph.D., who published the entire transcript of the trial, stated that some incidents in the case would be considered unacceptable by contemporary standards. These include that Dr. Dillard Workman, who was Adams' medical associate, was also Ruby McCollum's physician for her prenatal care of Adams' child by her, had actively campaigned for Adams during his senatorial race, testified to McCollum's sanity at the trial, conducted Adams' autopsy and testified to that autopsy during the murder trial.
In November, 1980, Al Lee of the Ocala Star Banner interviewed McCollum at the rest home in Silver Springs, Florida where she had retired after leaving Chattahoochee. Lee stated that McCollum's memory of the entire ordeal had faded. The State Mental Hospital at Chattahoochee was known for mis-treatment such as keeping patients on Thorazine and giving electroshock therapy.