Truman G. Futch Jr. (October 1, 1891 – March 24, 1960) was an American state senator and judge in Florida. He served as president of the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. He also served three terms in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. As a

Lake County, Florida Lake County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the Orlando-Kissimmee- Sa ...

judge he was involved in the trials of the

Groveland Four The Groveland Four (or the Groveland Boys) were four African American men, Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd, and Walter Irvin. In July 1949, the four were accused of raping a white woman and severely beating her husband in Lake C ...

. He denied an attempt to prosecute sheriff

Willis McCall Willis Virgil McCall (July 21, 1909 – April 28, 1994) was sheriff of Lake County, Florida. He was elected for seven consecutive terms from 1944 to 1972. He gained national attention in the Groveland Case in 1949. In 1951, he shot two def ...

who shot two of them during an alleged escape attempt while the sheriff was transporting them. He was also involved in a school segregation case. He once issued a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

to Florida governor

LeRoy Collins Thomas LeRoy Collins (March 10, 1909 – March 12, 1991) was an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Florida. Collins began his governorship after winning a special election in 1954, was elected to a four-year term in 1956 ...

. Futch died on March 24, 1960. He declared Jesse Delbert Daniels insane and the 19 year-old was committed to a mental institution until he was freed 14 years later. Futch was born in

Hampton, Florida Hampton is a city in Bradford County, Florida, United States. The population was 500 at the 2010 census. History Early history Hampton was incorporated in 1925. At the time, it was at the junction of the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway ...

. Futch liked to

whittle Whittle may refer to: Crafts *Whittling, the carving of wood with a knife People * Whittle (name), a surname, and a list of people with the name Places * Whittle, Kentucky * Whittle, Derbyshire, a hamlet near Glossop, Derbyshire, United Kingdom ...

References

Florida state senators 1891 births 1960 deaths People from Bradford County, Florida Florida state court judges 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges {{Florida-state-judge-stub