Albert Love Patterson (January 27, 1894 – June 18, 1954) was an American politician and attorney in

Phenix City Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He was assassinated outside his law office shortly after he had won the Democratic nomination for

Alabama Attorney General The attorney general of Alabama is an elected, constitutional officer of the State of Alabama. The office of the attorney general is located at the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Henry Hitchcock was elected Alabama's first attorney genera ...

on a platform of reforming the rife corruption and vice in Phenix City.

Early life

Albert Love Patterson was born in the New Site community in

Tallapoosa County Tallapoosa County is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama."ACES Tallapoosa County Office" (links/history), Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), 2007, webpageACES-Tallapoosa As of the 2020 census, t ...

sometime between 1891 and 1897, depending on what source is used. According to his driver's license at the time of his death, his date of birth was January 27, 1894. He was the son of Mary Green (Sorrell) and Delona Patterson, and grew up on a farm with seven siblings. He left Alabama as a teenager to seek a better life. He eventually settled in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

, working as a day laborer on farms and oil fields. In

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Patterson joined the Third Texas Infantry, earning a commission as a second lieutenant. He began dating Agnes Benson of Colbert County, Ala., and they married on July 14, 1917. In July 1918, Patterson deployed to France as an officer with the 36th Infantry Division. In France, Patterson was seriously wounded near St. Etienne. For his service, France awarded him the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with a silver gilt star. Patterson spent a lengthy convalescence after he was discharged before he returned to his native Alabama to attend college. He earned a teacher's certificate from what is now

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...

in 1921 and served as a high school principal in both

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

and Coosa County. He completed his bachelor's degree in history from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 1926, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He would go on to earn his law degree in just one year from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

's law school in

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

. After he opened law practices in

Opelika Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

and Alexander City, he would settle in Phenix City in 1933.

Political career

Patterson began his political career in 1937 as a member of the Phenix City Board of Education. By 1940, he was also chairman of the Russell County Draft Board. In 1946, he was elected to the

Alabama State Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

, where he served from 1947 to 1951 and helped introduce several important bills, including the Wallace-Cater Act, which allowed the use of state and municipal bonds to finance industrial plants, and the Trade School Act, which formed many of Alabama's trade schools. In the early 1950s, Patterson became involved with the Russell Betterment Association (RBA), which was formed to combat the rampant vice and corruption occurring in Phenix City and Russell County. That involvement resulted in Patterson's office being set ablaze in 1952. The RBA had been thwarted electing its candidates at the local level and so it decided to nominate candidates for statewide office. Since Patterson had held a Senate seat, he was seen as the perfect candidate for the office of the Attorney General. He obtained a plurality in the 1954 Democratic primary and staged a runoff in May with Lee "Red" Porter of Gadsden. In the runoff, early election results saw Patterson gain a seemingly-insurmountable lead. That allegedly led Porter's Phenix City supporters to buy and to steal votes throughout the state to attempt to keep Patterson from victory. The results continued going back and forth until June 10, when the executive committee of the

Alabama Democratic Party The Alabama Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the state of Alabama. It is chaired by Randy Kelley. The Alabama Democratic Party was once one of the most successful political organizati ...

declared Patterson as the winner.

Assassination

On the evening of June 18, 1954, Patterson was working in his law office in the Coulter Building in Phenix City. As he left at about 9 p.m., he walked to his car, which was parked in an alley off Fifth Avenue next to the Elite Cafe. An unidentified assailant walked up to him, pushed a gun in his mouth, and shot him three times. One cartridge was found wedged in an opening, where two or three front teeth had been knocked out. Patterson was well aware that his life was in danger, commenting just one night earlier to a church group, "I have only a 100-to-1 chance of ever being sworn in as attorney general."

Aftermath and legacy

Reaction from the state was swift. Within weeks, Governor

Gordon Persons Seth Gordon Persons (February 5, 1902 – May 29, 1965) was an American Democratic politician who was the 43rd Governor of Alabama from 1951 to 1955. A relative moderate, Persons provided reforms to the state prison system, and limited po ...

declared martial law in the city, effectively giving the

Alabama National Guard The Alabama National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S State of Alabama, and consists of the Alabama Army National Guard and the Alabama Air National Guard. (The Alabama State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Alabama Mil ...

the law enforcement duties in the city and the county. The state sent special prosecutors from Montgomery to replace the local judiciary. Within six months, the Phenix City machine was dismantled. A special grand jury in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

handed down 734 indictments against local law enforcement officers, elected officials, and local business owners connected to organized crime. Three officials were specifically indicted for Patterson's murder: Chief Deputy Sheriff Albert Fuller,

Circuit Solicitor In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Arch Ferrell, and Attorney General Si Garrett. Of the three, only Fuller was convicted; he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released after 10 years. Fuller died within the same year from injuries sustained in a fall and claimed his innocence until his dying day.Eidsmoe, John, "Legalized Gambling, America's Bad Bet", 1995 Ferrell was acquitted and Garrett was never brought to trial, as he was convalescing in a mental institution for most of the year after Patterson's murder. Patterson's son,

John Malcolm Patterson John Malcolm Patterson (September 27, 1921 – June 4, 2021) was an American politician. He served one term as Attorney General of Alabama from 1955 to 1959, and, at age 37, served one term as the 44th Governor of Alabama from 1959 to 1963. Hi ...

, assumed the Democratic nomination for Attorney General; he won and took office in 1955. In 1958, John was elected as Alabama governor, running on a platform of fighting organized crime and public corruption.

Honors and awards

Albert Patterson Statue Montgomery Alabama

. *A memorial statue of Patterson stands on the grounds of the

Alabama State Capitol The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National ...

in Montgomery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Albert Alabama lawyers Assassinated American politicians Democratic Party Alabama state senators School board members in Alabama 1894 births 1954 deaths People from Tallapoosa County, Alabama Politicians from Columbus, Georgia Military personnel from Alabama People murdered in Alabama Deaths by firearm in Alabama American military personnel of World War I University of Alabama alumni Cumberland School of Law alumni American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Jacksonville State University alumni American anti-corruption activists 20th-century American lawyers Laborers Organized crime in the United States Politicians assassinated in the 1950s Assassinated subnational legislators 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature People murdered in 1954