Charles Hudspeth (convict)

{{Short description|American man executed for murderer}}

{{refimprove|date=January 2010}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Charles Hudspeth

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date =

| birth_name =

| alias = Andrew J. "Andy" Hudspeth

| birth_place =

| death_date = December 30, 1892

| death_place = Harrison, Arkansas, U.S.

| death_cause = Execution by hanging

| body_discovered =

| education =

| occupation =

| spouse =

| partner =

| known_for = Executed for murder of a person who was later found alive

}}

Charles Hudspeth (a.k.a. Andrew J. "Andy" Hudspeth) was an American man convicted of murder in Marion County, Arkansas, in 1887.{{cite news|title=LOCAL ECHOINGS|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/marion/newspapers/188802.txt|work=Mountain Echo Newspaper|accessdate=April 16, 2015|issue=February 1888}} On December 30, 1892, he was hanged for the murder. His alleged victim was purportedly later found to be alive.{{cite web |url=http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/ar/charles-hudspeth.html |title=Charles Hudspeth |accessdate=January 14, 2010 |publisher=Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law |archive-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204130822/http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/ar/charles-hudspeth.html |url-status=dead }}Malloy, Daniel (8 February 2009) [https://archive.today/20130131165936/http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/09039/947752-85.stm Prosecutors don't always need a body as evidence] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 8, 2012.

George Watkins and his wife, Rebecca, moved in 1886 from Kansas to Marion County, Arkansas, where Rebecca apparently soon became intimately involved with Charles Hudspeth. The following year, Watkins disappeared.

Rebecca and Hudspeth were arrested and, after lengthy interrogation, Rebecca allegedly made a statement accusing Hudspeth of murdering Watkins to get him out of the way so they could be married.

Based on Rebecca's testimony, Hudspeth was convicted and sentenced to death, but the Arkansas Supreme Court set aside the conviction on the ground that the trial judge, R. H. Powell, had improperly barred testimony regarding Rebecca's alleged lack of good character. Hudspeth v. State, 50 Ark. 534 (1888).

Upon retrial, Hudspeth was again convicted and again sentenced to death. He was hanged at Harrison, Arkansas, on December 30, 1892. In June 1893, Hudspeth's lawyer, W. F. Pace, reportedly located Watkins alive and well in Kansas, although this is disputed.{{cite book|last1=DiBiase|first1=Thomas|title=No-Body Homicide Cases: A Practical Guide to Investigating, Prosecuting, and Winning Cases When the Victim Is Missing|date=17 November 2014|accessdate=April 16, 2015| publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1482260069|page=155|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BYeBQAAQBAJ&q=Andrew+J.+Hudspeth+Watkins+murder&pg=PA155}}