Deliberate Indifference: 2a Story of Racial Injustice and Murder

On Dec. 25, 1987, Loyal Garner Jr., a law-abiding black man who lived in Louisiana with his wife and six children, drove into Sabine County, Tex., with two friends. All three were arrested, although they were not told the charges. In the Hemphill, Tex., jail Garner was beaten unconscious by three officers; the next morning he was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Tyler, where he died a day later. Hemphill Police Chief Thomas Ladner had a reputation for abusing prisoners, but when he and his two assistants were arrested, the white community closed ranks behind them. The trial of the three officers for violating Garner's civil rights was held in Hemphill, where they were acquitted. The second trial, for murder, however, was held in Tyler, where all three were found guilty and received sentences of 10 to 28 years. The appeal of Ladner, who had drawn the longest sentence, was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court; appeals by the other two are pending. Swindle ( Once a Hero ), an editor at the Dallas Morning News , has written a devastating report about a segment of society he views as inbred, ignorant, racist, self-deluding and hypocritical. (Feb.)