Butler and Yelder

In 1928, Louise Butler and her paramour, George Yelder were convicted in Lowndes County, Alabama of murdering Louise's 14-year-old niece, Topsy Warren. Topsy's sister and two of her cousins testified that Louise struck Topsy with an ax, with which George dismembered the corpse. The remains allegedly were put into a sack and then thrown into the Alabama River. Louise had confessed to the murder initially, but the confession was suppressed at trial. Both defendants were sentenced to life in prison.

Less than a week after sentencing, Topsy was discovered alive and well, and residing less than twenty miles away. In July 1928, George and Louise were pardoned by the governor. [cite news | first= | Last= | title=Confessed Alabama Slayers Are Pardoned, As Girl, 14, 'Victim' of Pair, Is Found Alive | publisher=The New York Times | page=26 | date=1928-7-16] The children then admitted that they had fabricated the story, at the behest of a man who had a grievance against George. It was never explained why they also had implicated Louise, or why she had confessed.

References

External links

* [http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/alButlerSummary.html Center on Wrongful Convictions]
* [http://forejustice.org/db/Butler__Louise.html ForeJustice Database]
* [http://dredmundhiggins.com/listofcases.htm Dredmund Higgins Database]