Athens, AL — On Wednesday, April 24, at 1 p.m., the U.S. Postal Service will dedicate the Athens Post Office Building, 1110 West Market Street, to Scottsboro Boys Judge James E. Horton, Jr. The public is invited to attend this free dedication ceremony.

U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (AL-05), who sponsored the bill to dedicate the facility, will be among dignitaries who will speak at the event. Also on the official program are the Judge’s granddaughter, Kathy Horton Garrett, and   postal officials, including Alabama District Manager Samuel Jaudon, Marketing Manager Lewis Kindle IV, Athens Postmaster James Chris Hill, and Huntsville Officer In Charge Bridget Hill. The Athens High School Band and JROTC will participate as well.

Judge James Edwin Horton, Jr. was born in Limestone County, Alabama on January 4, 1878. Despite having no formal education until he was eight or nine, Judge Horton was accepted to Vanderbilt University's medical studies program and, later, to Cumberland University where he earned his bachelor and law degrees. Judge Horton served in the Alabama State Legislature until he took a Limestone County, Alabama chancery court position. Thereafter, he was elected circuit court judge for Alabama’s Eighth Judicial Circuit.

After reelection to a second term, Judge Horton was appointed to preside over the retrials of the highly controversial and nationally renowned Scottsboro Boys cases. The Scottsboro Boys cases involved nine African Americans, ages 13 to 20, accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931 as it traveled through Scottsboro and Jackson County, Alabama. In the first trials, eight of nine defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death, a verdict later reversed by the United States Supreme Court. After a guilty verdict and death sentence during the second set of Scottsboro Boys trials, Judge Horton issued an order setting aside the jury’s guilty verdict against Haywood Patterson and ordered a new trial. In 2013, the Scottsboro Boys were formally pardoned under Alabama law.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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