In honor of the 30th anniversary of its publication, I am going to be writing a series of essays on Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and this year marks the 30th anniversary of this blockbuster book’s publication. While I can never pin down my Favorite Movie, Food, or TV Show; I have no issue declaring my favorite book. Midnight is my favorite book, hands down! It is (along with the first book of Fellowship of the Ring) the only book I make a point of reading each year. It is without question the gold standard of Creative Nonfiction.
The central narrative concerns the shooting of Danny Hansford, a local male prostitute, by his sometimes lover Jim Williams, a famed and rich Antiques dealer. But, most of the book follows John Berendt’s journey as he discovers and observes the people and happenings of Savannah Georgia.
Given that it is the 30th anniversary a lot of renewed attention is being placed on the book and most of it is focused on its author John Berendt, and the colorful characters that populate the story, the Greek chorus as he refers to them. This is mainly due to the fact that Berendt is the only living major character of the book and because that is honestly the funniest aspect of the whole story. Characters like Joe Odom an ex-lawyer piano player who routinely invades other people’s homes, Lady Chablis, a Trans-African American drag queen, and Minerva a root doctor; that help heighten this book into Masterpiece territory.
But there is also another undercurrent that is usually absent from most analysis, the politics of the book. It may not seem like the local politics of Savannah played any part in the narrative. But, when you look a little bit deeper as Jim Williams himself states in the book “Things can get very murky,” it soon becomes clear that it was the Political power of one of William’s rivals as much as Williams's sexuality that led to him being charged with Murder.
“You mustn’t be taken in by the moonlight and magnolias. There’s more to Savannah than that. Things can get very murky.”
― John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
James Arthur Williams was born in Gordon, Georgia, where as a high school student he became a noted antiques dealer and historic preservationist. He moved to Savannah and was active in the preservation of the Savannah Historic District.
In 1955, at the age of 24, Williams bought and restored his first three buildings: the single-level houses located at 541, 543, and 545 East Congress Street. Over the following 35 years, he restored more than fifty homes in Savannah, including the Odingsells House, the Armstrong House, and the Mercer House. All of these restorations resulted in Williams making huge profits and enabling him to expand his antiques shop.
However, by the 1970s he had started a rivalry with his next-door neighbor Preservationist Lee Adler. Both men were wealthy and well-connected. Yet, while Adler was a forceful advocate for historic preservation, he did it through Urban renewal and in a manner that seemed self-serving. He also had an odd fixation on Williams and his private life, frequently spying on the latter’s private males-only parties. As Williams was praised for his effective restorations, Adler became hated for his increasing reputation as a local slum lord. But, Adler became beloved among Savannah’s African American citizens and earned national acclaim for his efforts in subsidized housing.
The only problem was his homes for costly for the residents, poorly maintained, and cost the taxpayers a king’s ransom. Still, it was Adler’s national awards and appointments that frustrated the community’s upper crust more than anything. Adler was blackballed from all the major social clubs and events (So was Williams), resenting the whispered gossip about him.
So what did he do? He backed an underdog for District Attorney, Spencer Lawton. Lawton was the last person you would expect to run for District Attorney, let allow win the position. But with Adler’s support and donations came much-needed credibility. It also brought with it all the community’s black preachers which led to a surprise victory for Lawton.
Lawton’s first two years in office were disastrous. In his first major court case “The Rangers Case” he lost badly. It involved a 33-year-old pageant judge who was savagely beaten by a group of Army Rangers after he made a sexual advance towards one of them. The man died soon after and the defense soon turned it into a crusade against homosexuality. The Rangers were given just one year in prison and the community instantly turned on the new DA.
Not long after Adler’s rival Jim Williams killed his lover Danny Hansford in an act of self-defense. To the surprise of the entire community Williams was charged with murder. Savannah had a long history of wealthy citizens killing spouses and lovers and getting away with it. All of Williams’s friends began to speculate that the severity of his charges was due to Adler’s personal hostility, Williams’s private relations, and Lawton’s recent failures.
Hansford's death resulted in four murder trials (still a record), with the final one ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to a change of venue to move the case away from the Savannah jury pool. The first two trials were defeats for Williams, with the second resulting in him spending years in prison. In both of these trials, the prosecution focused primarily on Williams’s homosexuality and routinely suppressed evidence. In both cases, the state supreme court overturned the verdicts and demanded a retrial. Both of their decisions placed outrage and frustration on the actions of DA Spencer Lawton and his team.
“Jim Williams’s guilt or innocence is no longer the issue,” he said. “Spencer Lawton’s incompetence is the issue.”
― John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
During the third trial, the defense team had all but disproved every aspect of DA’s case. However, it still resulted in a mistrial. The reasoning? One jury, an elderly woman who had experienced a similar situation as Williams refused to vote to convict. For hours the other jurors tried to pressure her, with the other jurors making insults towards Williams and his lifestyle. This resulted in a mistrial and a final fourth trial taking place in Augusta Ga.
During the fourth trial, the jurors seemed to not care about any of the juicy aspects of Williams’ private life and he was acquitted after less than one hour of deliberation.
The four main take away from this aspect of the narrative is that —
1) William’s was used by a desperate DA who feared for his own position.
2) The DA was motivated by a leading donor Lee Adler to throw the book at Williams’
3) It is likely that Williams’ was not entirely truthful in his account of the shooting. But, his charges were clearly more hostile and punitive due to his sexuality.
4) Williams only survived life imprisonment due to his wealth and ability to fight the convictions.
