Judge on The Lam
Back when we had the children’s home, we had two very wonderful supporters down in the town of Abbeville, South Carolina. These were Edith and Jim Davis.
Edith ran a shop on the square in Abbeville and Jim had an auction company. He also had a business that sold sort of surplus items. He gave the children’s home a hat press and many other items.
Mrs. Davis gave us countless items including a book her husband Jim had written along with permission to print some of his stories.
Jim, in addition to being the writer of a humor column in the Abbeville Press and Banner, was also a local judge. One day, we read in the Abbeville Press and Banner an article the Jim Davis wrote about a true story that happened one day while he was at work as a judge.
It appears that a young man came before Mr. Davis and told him that he was completely innocent. He was a victim of circumstance and circumstantial evidence. He went on to tell Mr. Davis about how underprivileged he had been and that he was trying to make things right in the world and that he just needed a chance. He told Mr. Davis of the hungry nights he had spent and all the injustices he had been through.
Mr. Davis said he felt sorry for him. He released the man and when he found out the man was going to have to walk home, he offered the young man a ride.
On the way home, Mr. Davis decided to get the young man a bite to eat. So, he went through the drive thru at the local Hardees restaurant. While waiting on the order, the young man told Mr. Davis he was going to run next door to the convenience store and get a pack of cigarettes.
Shortly after Mr. Davis got his food, the man climbed back in the truck with him and said, “Let’s go.”
A while later, Mr. Davis learned from the police that a man matching his description, with a truck matching the description of his truck, had driven the getaway vehicle that was used in the armed robbery of the convenience store next door to the Hardees.
Jim was not amused.
