Leaving Mississippi

One month shy of her 13th birthday in 1952, the author watched as a portable electric chair was off-loaded from a huge flatbed truck and into the Simpson County courthouse. A Negro man who had killed a constable in 1951 was to be electrocuted that night. His wife, Martha Lee Durr, eight-months pregnant, was arrested, charged with accessory to murder. She lost the baby. She spent six months in the Simpson County jail before several Negro farmers posted bail for her to be released and reunited with her three children. Martha Lee was never tried in court. Upon release, she focused on getting herself and her children away from Mississippi. Martha Lee Hall, age 93, today lives in Grand Rapids, MI. This is her story of survival and forgiveness.