Bernard E. Harcourt collection on Doyle Lee Hamm, 1919-2023

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Series I: Doyle Lee Hamm ("DLH") Important Papers



Box 1 Envelope with Doyle Lee Hamm prison identification with mug shot from Alcorn County, MS, 19 February 1981

(On the back "Mississippi State Penitentiary Inmate Identification Card." On the front, mug shot)


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Lee Hamm's will and testament and final papers


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Lee Hamm's will and testament and HIPAA form


Box 1 Folder with signed finalized settlement agreement, 23 March 2018

(Signed by Thomas R. Govan, Beth Jackson Hughes, and Bernard E. Harcourt)


Box 1 Folder with redacted execution protocol provided to Bernard E. Harcourt, 30 January 2018


Box 1 Folder with medical problems re. Doyle Hamm, 2017


Box 1 Folder with miscellaneous letter from Sonia Sotomayor, 2019


Box 1 Folder with state of Alabama motion to set execution date, 23 June 2017


Box 1 Folder with the execution warrant from Alabama Supreme Court, 13 December 2017


Box 1 Yellow wide folder with oral argument notes from federal court hearing requesting and obtaining a stay of execution, 31 January 2018


Box 1 Folder with various pleadings and documents in the Doyle Hamm lethal injection litigation, 1983

(Including Doyle Hamm status reports at the Alabama Supreme Court in 2017, Respondent's submission of redacted protocol, Doyle Hamm's emergency appeal brief to the 11th Circuit dated February 20, 2018, post-execution state Rule 32 post-conviction petition)


Box 1 Folder with notes from federal court hearing, 16 February 2018


Box 1 Folder with notes from Phoebe Wolfe and Nika Cohen (Columbia Law School students assisting Bernard E. Harcourt) on final days in February 2018


Box 1 Folder on final days notes BEH


Box 1 Folder on final papers re. execution day, 22 February 2018


Box 1 US Supreme Court denial of Petition for writ of certiorari, 22 February 2018


Box 1 Folder with notes from meeting with BEH and DLH in visitation yard at Holman Prison, 23 February 2018


Box 1 Folder with digital photos of medical exam by Dr. Mark Heath after execution on February 25, 2018 (2 photo memory chips)


Box 1 Folder with DLH letter recounting execution attempt, dated March 11, 2018


Box 1 Folder with letters to BEH after botched execution February 2018


Box 1 Folder with email from Thomas Govan re. no future execution, giving BEH his word there would be no future execution


Box 1 Folder with pleadings filed on February 23, 2018


Box 1 Folder with email from Thomas Govan re. violation of gag order, 27 March 2018


Box 1 Folder with trial digest from DLH Alabama death penalty trial in 1987


Box 1 Folder with mitigation chronology by Gaye Nease


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Hamm Taylor Hardin lunacy commission evaluation, 19 July 1987


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Hamm pre-sentence report, 7 October 1987


Box 1 Folder with Hugh Harris's (defense counsel) appointment letter as Special Assistant Attorney General, 24 September 1987

(The first day of Doyle Hamm's capital murder trial)


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Hamm jury interview notes and media reports on DLH capital trial


Box 1 Folder with death sentencing order by Judge Fred Folsom in Cullman Country Circuit Court, 1 December 1987


Box 1 Folder with letter of recommendation to Harvard College for the son of the state judge, Don L. Hardeman

(Written during state post-conviction Rule 32 proceedings, dated January 15, 1996, at the request of the judge)


Box 1 Folder with letter from state judge, Don L. Hardeman, withdrawing BEH as counsel for DLH, 1 May 1998


Box 1 Folder with Proposed Memorandum Opinion, 6 December 1999

(This is the proposed draft opinion written by the Alabama Attorney General on the Rule 32 state post-conviction petition, submitted to Judge Don Hardeman on the afternoon of Friday, December 3, 1999, and signed on the morning of Monday, December 6, 1999, by Judge Hardeman without making any edits or even removing the word "Proposed" on the caption of his judicial opinion).


Box 1 Folder with Doyle Lee Hamm guilty plea in Tishomingo County, MS capital murder case


Box 1 Folder with special investigation documents and reports on Tishomingo, MS capital murder case


Box 1 Folder with Watt Espy research on Alabama death penalty executions history from 1812-1926 and his research on AL death penalty


Box 1 Copy of book manuscript On God's Time recounting attempted execution of Doyle Lee Hamm and the procedural history of his case


Box 1 Copy of photo book of Doyle Lee Hamm's burial and memorial service


Box 1 Minicassette with recording of voice message of the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday 6 June 1994

(In which the clerk of the court states: "Thank you for calling! The courthouse is closed in memory of our great president, Jefferson Davis. We will open at 8 o'clock Tuesday, June 7th. For weekend and nighttime calls, please consult the directory for direct dial numbers. Have a great and happy holiday!")