The Nation - News from Sept. 3, 1987

A murder trial in Decatur, Tenn., ended in chaos when a jury’s verdict of innocent touched off a rampage by more than 200 people, eyewitnesses said. “They just started yelling and trying to get at the defendant and his family,” said Cynthia Isom, a deputy clerk at the Meigs County Courthouse. Jerry Allen, 27, who was being tried on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault, was rushed from the courtroom by police officers as the victim’s family tried to reach him, she said. The courtroom was full of spectators and police when the jury returned its verdict, said Meigs County Sheriff R. L. McKenzie. At least two people were hospitalized, authorities said.