August 28 was the last day of the seven-day Jericho March. The march was an act of faith patterned after the biblical march around the City of Jericho Walls some 3,500 years ago. Joshua was directed by God to secure the Promised Land. However, the City of Jericho with its impregnable walls stood in the way. Joshua and his army marched around the Jericho Walls once each day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. The walls came tumbling down, and Joshua and the Hebrew children secured the Promised Land.
Our modern day Promised Land is about the social, communal, political and general welfare rather than land. It is unfettered voting rights. It is health care for all. It is excellent public education. It is workers’ rights. It is immigration rights. It is women’s rights. It is livable wages and so on. We marched around the Alabama State Capitol once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. It was an act of faith in pursuit of our Promised Land.
Seven of the many Jericho marchers went inside the State Capitol to commence a 24-hour vigil of prayer, praise and protest specifically to expand Medicaid. It was another act of faith. They were arrested and charged with trespass. We call them the Faithful Seven.
When they were arrested, it took six hours and $3,500 in cash to bail them out on misdemeanor charges. I helped lead the effort to get them out of jail but others helped including Representative Thad McClammy, Dr. Carol P. Zippert, Representative John Knight, Professor Martha Morgan and Karen Jones of Montgomery.
The trial date was eventually set for Monday, October 6. I thought I would be the only lawyer for the Faithful Seven. Then, I discovered that Martha Morgan, Professor Emerita of the University of Alabama Law School, was already researching issues related to the case. Faya Rose, one of the defendants who is also a well-known lawyer, agreed to help try the case. A few days before the trial, Bobby Segall of Montgomery volunteered to help. I was grateful for all the additional assistance. The challenge of coordinating the legal team was growing, but the burden of trying the case would be shared. Each of the lawyers contributed so much. Martha Morgan’s outstanding research and writings made all our jobs easier.
On the day of the trial we arrived at 7:30 in the morning. Our basic defenses were “honest belief” and “justification by necessity.” The honest belief defense was based upon the State Capitol being a public place. The Faithful Seven called it the People’s House and therefore they honestly believed they had a right to peaceful protest in the People’s House. The justification by necessity defense was based on saving lives since up to 700 people die each year or average some three deaths every two days that would not happen if Medicaid were expanded.
There were many witnesses ready to testify but only four presented: three State Capitol Officers and one expert, Dr. Pamela Foster, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine/Public Health of the University of Alabama Medical School. So many of our points were made through these four witnesses that the Faithful Seven and others did not need to testify. Faya Rose Toure’ and Bobby Segall handled the four witnesses as well as the opening and closing statements. They were excellent.
Then came the events that truly made it a great moment, a great day, a great time, a great victory. Montgomery County District Judge Troy Massey leaned forward on the bench to render his decision. In so many words, he said the following: District Court is not a court of record. Therefore, I do not usually explain my decisions. I just pronounce the defendant guilty or not guilty. But I am going to explain my decisions today. I find the defense of honest belief compelling. I find the justification by necessity defense compelling. What these seven defendants did is no different than what 80 men did in 1773 when they boarded three ships in the Boston Harbor and threw overboard tea worth a million dollars at the time. (That could be $100 million today.) They were protesting taxation without representation. Today, we call it the Boston Tea Party, which led to the American Revolution. It is no different than what Mrs. Rosa Parks did in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a White man, thereby challenging bus segregation. It’s no different than what the people did in Selma to secure the right to vote. It’s no different than what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did on many occasions. As Attorney Faya Toure’ said, without our forefathers doing what they did, I would not be sitting here as judge today. Therefore, I find Annie Pearl Avery not guilty; I find John Zippert not guilty; I find Faya Rose Toure’ not guilty; I find Gus Townes not guilty; I find Fred Hammond not guilty; I find Alecha Irby not guilty; I find Kenneth Glasgow not guilty. This court is adjourned. I could feel the pride and joy bursting forth from the large group of supporters. It was indeed a great moment.
EPILOGUE – Sometimes we walk out on faith. That’s what the Faithful Seven did, risking arrest and criminal conviction that could affect their lives for the worst. They were arrested but not convicted. Sometime others are also faithful in different ways and arenas including lawyers volunteering and a judge doing justice.
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