The Nation - News from Oct. 13, 1985
An all-white federal jury in Tuscaloosa, Ala., acquitted Spiver Gordon, a black political activist, of nine charges of voting fraud and was unable to reach a verdict on 12 additional charges. In Birmingham, a jury in the retrial of Bobbie Nell Simpson, a black activist, found her innocent of voting fraud. The verdicts left prosecutors winless in five trials stemming from a Justice Department inquiry on voting activities in five predominantly black counties in rural Alabama. Jurors in Gordon’s trial were ordered to resume deliberations Tuesday.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
