Harry Coe (February 13, 1933 – July 13, 2000) was a circuit judge and then State Attorney of Hillsborough County, Florida.

Early life

He was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, before moving to Florida, where he attended Lakeland High School. He then attended

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

on a baseball and basketball scholarship. He is considered one of the best players in school history and was one of the first pitchers to be named to the All-SEC team. He played minor league baseball in 1953 and from 1956 to 1958, going 26–3 with a 1.36 ERA in 264 innings for the

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

in 1957 and 18–12 with a 2.41 mark for the team in 1958. Overall, he was 57–37 in his professional career. He later attended law school at

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

Career in law

Prior to his tenure as State Attorney, he was a circuit judge, serving in that role for 22 years. He was nicknamed "Hangin' Harry" for handing down what were considered extreme jail sentences. He became State Attorney in 1992. His career in law was mired in controversy. He accumulated thousands of dollars in gambling debts and used re-election campaign funds, among money from other outside sources, to pay them off. His money issues sparked an investigation. He committed suicide on July 13, 2000, dying in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. The media's involvement in his suicide was highly scrutinized, as some believed its "hound ng of Coe about "allegations and innuendos" led him to kill himself. Others opined he received "unfair treatment ... from the media." Said his former wife: "I'm not saying the media caused him to go to his death, but they certainly were a part of it. I'll always believe that." Considerable flak was taken by

WFLA-TV WFLA-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside St. Petersburg–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WTTA (chann ...

reporter Steve Andrews, who released a story on Coe prior to his death.

Robert DuBoise controversy

Robert DuBoise, who was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder of Barbara Grams on August 18, 1983, and sentenced to death by judge Harry Coe, was exonerated and released on August 27, 2020 after spending 37 years in jail.NFL.com news dated 26th January 2021
accessed on January 27, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coe, Harry 1933 births 2000 suicides Florida local politicians Politicians from Brooklyn County judges in the United States Politicians from Tampa, Florida Baseball players from New York (state) Minor league baseball players Baseball pitchers Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Florida Gators baseball players Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida 20th-century American judges 2000 deaths Stetson University College of Law alumni Baseball players from Florida Suicides in Florida