Audio only
The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson
A Battle for Racial Justice at the Dawn of the Civil Rights EraBy Chris JoynerNarrated by John LescaultLength11h 4m
About this audiobook
The story of Clarence Henderson, a Black sharecropper convicted and sentenced to death three times for a murder he didn’t commit
This is the story of Clarence Henderson, a wrongfully accused Black sharecropper, who was sentenced to die three different times for a murder he didn’t commit, and of the prosecution desperate to pin the crime on him despite scant evidence. His first trial lasted only a day and featured a lackluster public defense.
The book also tells the story of Homer Chase, a former World War II paratrooper and New England radical who was sent to the South by the Communist Party to recruit African Americans to the cause, while offering them a chance at increased freedom.
And it’s the story of Thurgood Marshall’s NAACP and their battle against not only entrenched racism but a Communist Party—despite facing nearly as much prejudice as those they were trying to help—intent on winning the hearts and minds of Black voters. The bitter battle between the two groups played out as the sides sparred over who would take the lead on Henderson’s defense, a period in which he spent years in prison away from a daughter he had never seen.
Through it all, Chris Joyner reveals a portrait of a community and a country at a crossroads, trying to choose between the path it knows is right and the path of least resistance. The case pitted powerful forces—often those steering legal and journalistic institutions—attempting to use racism and Red-Scare tactics against a populace that by and large believed the case against Henderson was suspect at best.
Ultimately, it’s a hopeful story about how, even when things look dark, some small measure of justice can be achieved against all the odds and that actual progress is possible. It’s the rare book that is a timely read, yet still manages to shed an informative light on America’s past and future as well as its present.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (292)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreHistory, True Crime
Length11 hrs 4 mins
Narrated byJohn Lescault
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJan 18, 2022
LanguageEnglish
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Pearl of Great PriceJoseph Smith3h 8m4.7 (7.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
Killer TriggersJoe Kenda8h 31m4.4 (6K)$20 · $0.00
BoundlessNick Kostov, Sean McLain9h 17m4.5 (1.1K)$29 · $0.00
Deadly ForceLawrence O'Donnell17h 18m4.5 (342)$40 · $0.00
Walking the BowlChris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama9h 7m4.4 (1.5K)$29 · $0.00
PapillonHenri Charriere18h 19m4.3 (90.2K)$40 · $0.00
The SuspectKent Alexander, Kevin Salwen14h 12m4.4 (3K)$23 · $0.00
The Cause of DeathCynric Temple-Camp8h 59m4.4 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
GanglandJared Savage9h 21m4.4 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
Riding with EvilKen Croke, Dave Wedge9h 42m4.3 (3.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Two FBIsNicole Parker10h 8m4.4 (499)$29 · $0.00
I Catch KillersGary Jubelin15h 32m4.3 (6.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Redemption Of Bobby LoveBobby Love, Cheryl Love9h 13m4.4 (956)$29 · $0.00
The Life We ChoseMatt Birkbeck8h 57m4.4 (1K)$29 · $0.00
The Truth About AaronJonathan Hernandez5h 15m4.3 (2.5K)$24 · $0.00
No Ordinary BirdArtis Henderson6h 23m4.4 (597)$24 · $0.00
I'll Be Gone in the DarkMichelle McNamara10h 7m4.3 (302.5K)$29 · $0.00
Beyond the Body FarmBill Bass, Jon Jefferson6h 17m4.3 (10.2K)$24 · $0.00
The Killer Across the TableJohn E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker11h 7m4.3 (37.5K)$8 · $0.00
Inside the CartelMartin Suarez, Ian Frisch10h 50m4.4 (583)$29 · $0.00
White Hot HateDick Lehr12h 27m4.3 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
The Abbot’s AgreementMel Starr8h 20m4.2 (1.5K)$20
Perish from the EarthJonathan F. Putnam9h 43m4.1 (522)$20
The Boy Who Was Buried This MorningJoseph Hansen6h 10m4.3 (307)$17
The Brewer of PrestonAndrea Camilleri6h 34m4.0 (3K)$20 · $0.00
Death in VallettaLynn Marie Taylor9h 47m4.3 (335)$15 · $0.00
Clinton CashPeter Schweizer5h 26m4.2 (4.8K)$24 · $0.00
The Invention of FireBruce Holsinger13h 47m4.0 (2K)$33 · $0.00
Deadly ForceLawrence O'Donnell17h 18m4.5 (342)$40 · $0.00
The King’s GambitJohn Maddox Roberts7h 7m4.0 (3.6K)$17
Margaritas and MurderJessica Fletcher, Donald Bain6h 41m3.9 (2.2K)$20
The Man Who Knew Too MuchG. K. Chesterton5h 57m3.8 (9.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Window at the White CatMary Roberts Rinehart6h 47m3.7 (1.4K)$19 · $0.00
The Wolf DenSloane Barrett12h 35m4.2 (6.9K)$5
Master Wycliffe's SummonsMel Starr7h4.3 (1.1K)$17
Surrender, New YorkCaleb Carr23h 45m3.7 (8.2K)$30
Other People's Money, and How the Bankers Use ItLouis Dembitz Brandeis6h 42m4.0 (486)$1 · $0.00
Case Notes from Hollow StreetImad Muratspahic1h 25m$3.50 · $0.00
The Wolf of Two RiversIves Calderon6h 51m$5
The Curse of the TurtleSuzanne Buchanan12h 24m3.7 (207)$23 · $0.00
In the Mayor’s ParlourJ. S. Fletcher8h 2m3.6 (279)$20