J.B. Stoner | |
|---|---|
 Stoner in September 1963 | |
| National chairman of theNational States' Rights Party | |
| In office 1958–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Leadership collapse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (1924-04-13)April 13, 1924 La Fayette, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 2005(2005-04-23) (aged 81) La Fayette, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | National States' Rights Party |
| Parent(s) | Jesse Benjamin Stoner Sr. Minnie Stoner |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Motive | White supremacy |
| Conviction | Conspiracy to commit abombing[1] |
| Criminal penalty | 10 years in prison (paroled after3+1⁄2 years) |
| Details | |
| Date | June 29, 1958 |
| Location | Bethel Baptist Church |
Date apprehended | September 29, 1977[2] |
Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (April 13, 1924 – April 23, 2005) was an American lawyer,white supremacistsegregationist politician who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of theBethel Baptist Church inBirmingham, Alabama. He was not convicted for the bombing of the church until 1980.[3]
He was a founder and the long-time chairman of theNational States' Rights Party; he published its newsletter,The Thunderbolt. Stoner campaigned for several political offices as aSouthern Democrat in order to promote hiswhite supremacist agenda.
Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr was born inLaFayette, Georgia. His family ran a sight-seeing company onLookout Mountain, as well as in nearbyChattanooga. At age two, he contracted childhoodpolio, which impaired one of his legs and resulted in a lifelong limp. His father Jesse Benjamin Stoner Sr., died when he was five; his mother Minnie died when he was 17.[4]
Stoner admiredsegregationist politicianTheodore G. Bilbo. He became active in white supremacist groups and traveled toWashington, D.C. to support Bilbo. When Stoner was 17, he became a courier for theAmerica First Committee.[5]
Stoner rechartered a chapter of theKu Klux Klan inChattanooga in 1942, when he was 18 years old.[4] Stoner once said that "being aJew [should] be acrime punishable by death."[3] He ran the National States' Rights Party, founded byEd Fields, an associate of Stoner's.[citation needed]
Stoner received a law degree fromAtlanta Law School in 1952. He served as the attorney forJames Earl Ray, the assassin ofMartin Luther King Jr.[6] TheFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suspected that Stoner was also involved in theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as bombings of severalsynagogues and black churches during the 1950s and 1960s, such as the16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.[7][8]
He lived at 591 Cherokee Street in "Old"Marietta, Georgia.[9]
As a "roving white supremacist", Stoner, along with Connie Lynch, was present inBogalusa, Louisiana in 1965. He performed the same road show to inflame white mobs as he had done inSt. Augustine, Florida during the summer of 1964.[10]
Stoner ran forgovernor of Georgia in1970.[3] During the campaign, in which he called himself the "candidate of love", he describedAdolf Hitler as "too moderate"; describedblack people as an extension of the ape family; and said thatJews are "vipers ofHell."[3] The primary was won byJimmy Carter, acivil rights movement supporter, and futurepresident.
Stoner ran for theUnited States Senate in1972, finishing fifth in theDemocratic Party primary with just over 40,000 votes. The nomination and the election were both won bySam Nunn.[citation needed]
During Stoner's Senate campaign, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that television stations had to play his offensive, racist ads because of thefairness doctrine.
Stoner continued his losing campaigns, running forlieutenant governor in 1974, and again for a seat in theUS Senate in 1980. His best showing was 73,000 votes (10%) in his campaign for lieutenant governor in 1974, when he sought to succeedLester G. Maddox in Georgia's second- highest constitutional office. That year, Maddox lost the gubernatorial nomination to former legislatorGeorge D. Busbee.[citation needed]
In 1978, Stoner ran in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and polled 37,654 votes (5.4%).[citation needed]
Stoner was a suspect in the 1958 bombing of theBethel Baptist Church, but he was not indicted for it until 1977. In 1980, a mostly white jury found him guilty and sentenced him to ten years in prison.[11]
Prosecutors suspected that Stoner perpetrated as many as a dozen other bombings[3] attributed to the "Confederate Underground"; these included the attempted bombing of Temple Beth-El inCharlotte, North Carolina (1957); and the bombings or attempted bombing of Temple Emanuel inGastonia, North Carolina (1958), theNashville, Tennessee Jewish Community Center (1958), Temple Beth El inMiami, Florida (1958), the Jacksonville Jewish Center and a black elementary school (1958),Temple Beth-El inBirmingham, Alabama (1958), andThe Temple in Atlanta (1958), andCongregation Anshai Emeth inPeoria, Illinois (1958).[12] He was not prosecuted for any of those cases.[3]
After being convicted for the Birmingham bombing, Stoner appealed his conviction for three years. When his appeals ran out,[13] he lived in hiding as a fugitive for four months.[14] In 1984, he was permanently removed from the roster of lawyers who may appear before the United States Supreme Court.[15]
Stoner was released from prison for good behavior in 1986, having served3+1⁄2 years of his 10-year sentence.[11][16]
After his release from prison and until his death at the age of 81, Stoner lived at anursing home in northwest Georgia, still defending his segregationist views. In one of his last interviews he stated, "A person isn't supposed to apologize for being right." His left side was partially paralyzed as the result of astroke.[4] Stoner is buried at Forest Hills Cemetery inChattanooga, Tennessee.
Ephemeral materials, 198—by J B Stoner; Crusade Against Corruption.Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, University of Kansas.
J. B. Stoner, an unapologetic racist whose conviction for bombing a church, divisive political campaigns and vituperations about Jews and blacks made him a benchmark for racial extremism in the United States, died on Saturday at a nursing home in La Fayette, Ga. He was 81. The cause was complications of pneumonia, Judith Ragon, wife of Mr. Stoner's second cousin, Ronald Ragon, told The Associated Press.
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)J. B. Stoner, convicted in 1960 of a bombing near a black church, left prison today after serving three and a half years of a 10-year sentence. Mr. Stoner, 64 years old, was released early for good behavior. Mr. Stoner, the longtime chairman of the white-supremacist National States Rights Party, was guilty of setting off an explosion near the Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville on June 29, 1958. No one was hurt in the blast.
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