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Thomas Figures

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Thomas Figures
Born(1944-08-06)August 6, 1944
Mobile, Alabama, US
DiedJanuary 22, 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 70)
Mobile, Alabama, US
Education
RelativesMichael Figures (brother)
Shomari Figures (nephew)

Thomas Henry Figures (August 6, 1944 – January 22, 2015) was an American attorney and judge. He was the first African American assistant district attorney and assistant United States Attorney from Mobile, Alabama. Figures earned convictions on two members of the Ku Klux Klan for the lynching of Michael Donald and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee against the judicial nomination of Jeff Sessions.

Early life

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Figures grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and graduated from Central High School in 1962. He attended Alabama State College[1] and transferred to Alabama State University (ASU) and served as president of the Student Government Association. He graduated second in his class in 1966.[2] Figures enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Indiana University Bloomington and earned a Juris Doctor from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[1]

Career

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After he graduated, Figures worked as legal counsel for Mobil Oil in New York and became an assistant district attorney in Westchester County, New York. He then returned to Mobile and became the first African American assistant district attorney in Mobile County.[1]

In 1978, Figures became an assistant United States Attorney.[3] In that role, he prosecuted two members of the Ku Klux Klan for the lynching of Michael Donald. The FBI was about to close the investigation when Figures insisted that they reopen it, finding evidence that led them to the two suspects, who were arrested in 1983 and convicted of murder.[4] Michael Figures, Thomas' brother, and Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center represented Donald's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, in a civil suit for wrongful death against the United Klans of America (UKA). They won a $7 million judgment ($18,773,286 in current dollar terms) against the UKA in 1987, bankrupting the organization.[5]

Figures resigned in 1985[6] in protest of United States Attorney Jeff Sessions' prosecution of community activists in Perry County, including Albert Turner, for voter fraud.[7] In 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sessions to the federal judiciary. Figures came forward with allegations of Sessions' behavior, such as referring to Figures as "boy" and the NAACP as "un-American",[8] which Sessions said were "absolutely untrue". Figures also said that Sessions had said that he believed the Ku Klux Klan "was OK until I found out they smoked pot", which Sessions claimed was a joke.[7] Figures testified about his experience working with Sessions in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which rejected the nomination.[9]

In 1992, Figures was indicted on one count of bribery for allegedly offering $50,000 and other assistance to a witness in a drug case not to testify that he was working as a defense attorney.[10][11] Figures alleged that he had been indicted as revenge for his testimony against Sessions; Sessions denied the allegation and transferred the prosecution to the U.S. Department of Justice.[12] Figures pleaded not guilty[13] and was acquitted at trial.[11]

Governor Fob James removed two members of the ASU's board of trustees and appointed Figures to one of the positions on September 30, 1998.[14][15] However, the removed members were restored to the board by a court ruling and he was removed in November. He appealed the decision to the Alabama Supreme Court[16] and the ruling against him was affirmed.[17] Governor Don Siegelman appointed Figures to the board of trustees in 2002.[18] His term ended in 2014.[19]

In 2007, Sam Jones, the mayor of Mobile, appointed Figures to serve as a municipal judge.[1]

Personal life

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Figures and his wife, Janice, married in 1987. She filed for divorce in 1991.[20] Figures died on January 22, 2015, at the age of 70.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Strunk, Taylor Peyton (March 22, 2015). "Life Stories: A drum major for justice, Thomas Henry Figures fulfilled his dreams of judgeship, fatherhood". AL.com. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "Alabama State Graduates To Hear Louisville Publisher". The Montgomery Advertiser. May 15, 1966. p. 63. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Nov 08, 1987, page 143 - The Sacramento Bee at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (November 1, 1987). "The Woman Who Beat The Klan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  5. ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (November 1, 1987). "Murder and retribution in Mobile: A mothers fight against the Klan". The Anniston Star. pp. D1. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Figures Leaves Post". The Montgomery Advertiser. Associated Press. July 4, 1985. p. 25. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Lyman, Mary Troyan and Brian. "Black Belt voter fraud case in Alabama shaped Sen. Jeff Sessions' career". Montgomery Advertiser.
  8. ^ Gray, Jeremy (November 8, 2020). "'A hurricane called Joe': Biden's 1986 Alabama visit and conflict with Jeff Sessions". AL.com. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "Sessions disappointed, pledges justice". Alabama Journal. June 6, 1986. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Former prosecutor accused of bribery". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 7, 1992. p. 1. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Article clipped from The Montgomery Advertiser". The Montgomery Advertiser. March 27, 1993. p. 1. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Smothers, Ronald (November 8, 1992). "Retaliation Alleged in Black Lawyer's Indictment". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  13. ^ "Attorney pleads innocent to bribery". The Selma Times-Journal. November 19, 1992. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Oct 21, 1998, page 24 - The Montgomery Advertiser". Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Dec 01, 1998, page 11 - The Montgomery Advertiser". Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Daniels, Malcomb (December 14, 1998). "ASU Board of Trustees replacements file appeal". The Montgogmery Advertiser. p. 1C. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Mar 27, 1999, page 41 - The Montgomery Advertiser". Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "May 11, 2002, page 11 - The Montgomery Advertiser". Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Dec 10, 2014, page A7". Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Attorney loses divorce appeal". The Montgomery Advertiser. March 24, 1993. p. 11.
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