JP: Many of the people who came before me were not educated but they were certainly intelligent. Some of them you dealt with them several times, and uh, the one that comes to mind most was Willie Earl ”Pip” Dow. He would take what was not his in order to finance his drinking problem. You didn’t have to try him, he always pled guilty, and he was a likable person. He would write me letters and he wrote me one time and he said, ”Judge, I feel like I’ve been up here long enough this time and I would appreciate it if you would write to the parole board and see if they’ll let me out.”

Well I did, and they did. And he had been out maybe six weeks when he began drinking and took his friend’s watch and the keys to his friend’s car. And his friend called the sheriff and told him that he had been robbed by Willie Earl, but he knew exactly where Willie was. So the sheriff went there and got him and locked him up. And when he came up before me of course he pled guilty again. And I got ready to sentence him. ”Come around, Mr. Dow. I am so disappointed I don’t know what to say. I have given you another chance and then you got in trouble again and I just don’t understand you.”

Well he said, ”Well, Judge, I’m disappointed in you.” Everything in the courtroom got deathly quiet. He said, ”When I was here four years ago, you were sitting in that same chair, wearing that same robe, making that same speech. I figured a man of your caliber ought to at least be on the Supreme Court by now.” Well, I told him, ”Mr. Dow, I was going to sentence you to five years, but since you are so perceptive, I think I’ll just give you three years.”

Which I did. Well, later, when I retired they had a little ceremony there in the courtroom to hang my portrait. And in walks Willie Earl Pip Dow. And I told him, ”Mr. Dow, I’m so glad to see you.” He said, ”Well, I heard they were going to hang Judge Pigott at the courtroom and so I didn’t want to miss that.” And I said, ”Well, I’m resigning, how long is it going to be before you’re going back to the penitentiary?”

He said, ”Judge, you’re resigning, I’m resigning. I’m going to retire just like you.” Well, I asked the judge that replaced me and the sheriff of the county to let me know if he got arrested for anything after that. And he did not. He lived about 10 more years and died a couple of years ago, but he was such a likable person. Sometimes you, you make friends in strange ways.