Dr. Rahm's Trial Opens; State Not Asking Death
Orange, Texas (AP) - Prosecutors told jurors Monday they would not ask the death penalty against Dr. Charles C. Rahm, on trial in the Brownsboro school board war.
The osteopath went on trial Monday on charges of slaying Thurman Jackson, 42, a lumber company operator.
The statement that no death penalty will be asked came from Dist. Atty. Jack Hardee of Henderson County, where the slaying took place. The trial was moved here on a change of venue.
The first morning of the trial was consumed in picking one juror, Fred E. Force, tax assessor-collector of the Orange independent school district.
Attorneys said they are hopeful testimony could start Wednesday.
Dr. Rahm was outwardly calm except for a nervous twining and untwining of his fingers. He was dressed in a neat, dark, pin-striped suit.
Jackson was killed June 16 when the school board meeting erupted into a vicious battle as the president gaveled the session to a close.
The victim was a brother of Clarence Jackson, agricultural teacher at the school.
Mrs. Clarence Jackson is a sister of Dr. Homer Bass, at that time school superintendent and center of a feud between two factions for 20 years.
Bass had been superintendent for 23 years. He had been ousted a couple months earlier by a new school board of which Dr. Rahm was secretary.
The doctor told officers he was slugged from behind, his glasses knocked off and he was on the floor undergoing kicks and stampings when Jackson fell from two bullet wounds.
About 30 of the 150 persons at the board meeting became involved in the battle. Several participants suffered injuries.
Dr. Rahm is free under $15,000 bond. His wife, who accompanied him to court, appeared more nervous than he. She was dressed in black.
Dallas Morning News
Tuesday, December 13, 1960
Section 1, Page 9
source: GenealogyBank.com
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