Presentation

In this presentation, Nashville Retrospect editor Allen Forkum tells some of the lesser-known Nashville crime stories from the 1950s and 1960s originally covered by award-winning investigative journalist Larry Brinton. Brinton reported some of the city’s most notorious cases while working for the Nashville Banner. In his later years, Brinton revisited many of these stories, digging up new information, and writing about them for The Nashville Retrospect. Ranging from the humorous to the gruesome, titles include: Prison Mystery, The Wrong Man, Razor Blade, Good Cop/Bad Cop and more. Video also features the Q&A session from this presentation to the Nashville History Club.

Stories covered in this video can be found in articles by Larry Brinton in these issues of The Nashville Retrospect:

“Prison Mystery” October 2009 issue

“Mistaken Identity” (James Moore Tidwell) July 2011 issue

“Milton Alred” July 2012 issue

“Fred Cobb, Policeman” October 2013 issue

“A Secret Double Life” (Herman Dewey Batson) December 2017 issue

The Infamous Murders Sampler Set includes four issues of the Retrospect featuring Brinton’s articles about: The Stringbean Murders, Janet March, Paula Herring, and the Samurai Sword case (John B. Milton).

You can also hear Brinton himself discuss his work in two Nashville Retrospect podcast episodes:

Episode 01: Crime Reporting, Sit-In Protests, Newspaper Competition

Episode 13: Cash-for-Clemency Scandal, ‘Marie’ Movie, JFK Visit, Janet March Murder

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Sources: Find A Grave, Google, Nashville Metro Archives, Nashville Public Library, NewsChannel 5

Newspapers.com, Tennessee State Library and Archives, and Tennessee Department of Corrections

Cover images: Nashville Public Library