To Otto Kerner
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: July 10, 1962 to July 12, 1962?
Location: Albany, Ga.
Genre: Letter
Topic: Albany Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Arrests
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views
Details
From the Albany jail, King wires Kerner, governor of Illinois, asking him to spare the life of Paul Crump, an African American on death row for murder since 1953.1 Crump, who was scheduled to be electrocuted on 3 August, garnered mass public support from individuals, including King, who believed he had been rehabilitated.2 Crump’s execution, King says, “would be one of the great tragedies of this generation,” and it will discourage other prisoners from hoping “they could ever return to usefulness in society.” Thirty-six hours before Crump was scheduled to die, Kerner granted him clemency, arguing that the goal of prison is rehabilitation and that the justice system should “be able to hold forth to others the hope that they can look forward to a useful life.”3 In 1993 Crump was released from prison.
his excellency otto kerner
governor
state of illinois
state capitol
springfield, illinois
dear governor
while confined here in the albany city jail my mind turns toward paul crump. his is one of the most beautiful rescue stories of modern history. his magnificent rehabilitation is one of the significant epics of our day. for him to be electrocuted would be one of the great tragedies of this generation. it will cause many prisoners to give up hope that they could ever return to usefulness in society. i implore you, in the name of god, human decency and humanity, to grant executive clemency to paul crump and save his life so beautifully rehabilitated from so tragic a [strikeout illegible] {death}. if you {do this you} will allow the example of paul crump to stand as an inspiration and beacon light of hope to many a wayward boy whose ill-judged action placed him behind prison walls.
faithfully yours
martin luther king, jr.
1. In 1959 Paul Orville Crump (1930–2002) sent King a letter professing his innocence and asking the civil rights leader for financial assistance to fund his appeal. In his response to Crump, King suggested other ministers in the Chicago area that might know more about the case, such as J. H. Jackson, J. C. Austin, or Morris Tynes. King apologized for being unable to do anything further, but assured Crump that he had his “prayers and best wishes for a speedy reversal of your conviction” (Crump to King, 9 February 1959; King to Crump, 15 April 1959). Otto Kerner, Jr. (1908–1976), born in Chicago, earned a B.A. (1930) at Brown University and a J.D. (1934) at Northwestern University Law School. In 1935 Kerner became a partner in his father’s firm, Kerner, Jaros, and Tittle. After serving in World War II with distinction, Kerner was appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, spent six years as a Cook County judge, and was elected governor of Illinois in 1960. In 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Kerner to head the President’s National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (known as the “Kerner Commission”). In 1968 he resigned as governor of Illinois to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, but he was later convicted and served a three-year prison term for income tax evasion, mail fraud, and other charges.
2. While in prison, Crump penned a novel, Burn, Killer, Burn (1962), and his case became a cause célèbre with supporters like Billy Graham and Mahalia Jackson.
3. “Kerner Tells Why He Saved Crump’s Life,” Chicago Tribune, 2 August 1962.
Source: MLKJP-GAMK, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers (Series I–IV), Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.