Percy Foreman

Percy Eugene Foreman (June 21, 1902 – August 25, 1988) was a criminal defense attorney from Houston, Texas. Various sources indicate that Foreman was born near either Bold Springs, Texas or Cold Springs, Texas.[1] Foreman moved to Livingston, Texas when he was six years old.[2] He was the son of Ransom Parson Hill Foreman, a former sheriff of Polk County, Texas.[3] Percy Foreman attended Staunton Military Academy in Virginia for one year, graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1927,[4] and was admitted to the Texas Bar on January 17, 1928.[5] He went on to become one of the US best known trial lawyers.

Foreman was a respected master of tactics. He lost only 53 of 1500 death-penalty cases and only one case resulted in execution (Steve Mitchell, electrocuted in Texas in 1951).[6][7]

Foreman's clients included General Edwin Walker,[8] James Earl Ray,[9] Charles Harrelson,[10]Candy Mossler [11] and various mafia kingpins.

Jack Ruby requested that Foreman represent him after he shot Lee Harvey Oswald.[12]

Famed defense attorneys Richard Haynes [13] and Dick DeGuerin [14] both worked with Foreman early in their careers and credit him as a mentor.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Compare Michael Dorman, King of the Courtroom: Percy Foreman for the Defense, p. 35 (Dell Publishing, New York 1969) (hereinafter "Dorman"), which indicates "Bold Springs," to the Texas State Historical Association, which reports "Cold Springs". The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, at . Bold Springs is in Polk County, while Cold Springs is in Cherokee County.
  2. ↑ East Texas Historical Association.
  3. ↑ Dorman, p. 40.
  4. ↑ The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, at
  5. ↑ State Bar of Texas, record for Percy Foreman, at .
  6. ↑ "There Is No Better Than Me" - TIME
  7. ↑ http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/TEXAS.htm
  8. ↑ Dorman, p. 107.
  9. ↑ Dorman, p. 280.
  10. ↑ Texas Ranger Dispatch Magazine at .
  11. ↑ Dorman, p. 150.
  12. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/26/obituaries/percy-foreman-texas-lawyer-86-defended-the-assassin-of-dr-king.html
  13. ↑ "Counsel For The Defense - Dallas Observer". DallasObserver.com. 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  14. ↑ "Houston brothers shine in legal spotlight - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. 2008-02-11.
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