EUTAWVILLE - A Eutawville man whose death sentence was overturned for the murder of an Orangeburg County deputy on June 4, 1965, has published a book about what happened that night because, he says, "I want to let the truth be known."

The book by Edward Richburg, published in November by AuthorHouse, is titled "The Night of the Crazy Baby in Eutawville, S.C." Richburg says the book is a personal account of "the struggle in the South during the civil rights movement" and "a story of self defense."

"I was sentenced to death in the electric chair. After three years on death row, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the sentence, and I was given 18 years to serve," Richburg said, adding that he was paroled in 1974.

Richburg owned a combination garage and nightclub in Eutawville called the "Crazy Baby" when the fatal shooting of Deputy Leroy Myers occurred.

According to The Times and Democrat account of the incident, Deputy Myers, described as a good officer and family man, observed Richburg driving recklessly on Highway 453 and pursued Richburg in his patrol car to the nightclub. When Myers tried to arrest Richburg, according to the article, a scuffle ensued and gunfire erupted. Myers was shot in the chest, side and stomach, and Richburg was also wounded several times.

The sheriff at the time was R.F. Dukes, and the solicitor was Julian Wolfe.

"I'm fighting to set things right, because that's what God saved me for," Richburg said in a recent interview.

Richburg was born in Cross in 1931, later moved to Eutawville at age 10 and got his first job at age 14 at a lumber mill in Charleston.

"I had a lot of jobs, worked hard and made good money," he said. "I never spent any of the money; I had a pocketful when I came home."

He added, "A young man or woman don't need to sell drugs to make a whole lot of money to buy a car, house, or run a business."

On the night of the tragic shooting, Richburg said, the state te.jpgied that Myers was making a lawful arrest for a traffic violation and that he (Richburg) refused to cooperate, produced a pistol and maliciously killed the deputy.

Richburg, however, said the deputy cursed him, called him names and beat him with his night stick. He claims Myers shot at him first, wounding him. He said he grabbed his .32-caliber pistol from inside the club and when he tried to run back outside, the deputy came after him. Richburg said he grabbed a 50-gallon trash drum to try to shield himself, pleading with the officer not to shoot him anymore. But Myers, he said, shot him in the leg, chest and stomach.

That's when Richburg said he pulled the .32 from his pocket and fired one shot as the officer was reloading his gun. He said he acted in self-defense.

"I could have died that day," Richburg said. "I could have died on the way to the hospital because the fellow driving me got scared and dropped me off, refusing to take me farther. I could have died in that police car that picked me up when two of the officers said, 'Hey, our fellow officer is dead. Let's put another bullet in this [racial slur]!' But God saved me."

Throughout his trial, his time on death row and his years in prison, Richburg said, his faith never wavered.

"God put me here for a reason," he says. "I'm glad to say that things have changed over the years, and they're still changing."

Richburg still owns and manages the Crazy Baby, now renamed A Touch of Class, which is located at 951 Eutaw Highway in Eutawville. He says seeing folks of all colors having a good time there seems, somehow, like justice.

T&D Correspondent Diane Gainer can be reached by e-mail at bcdthinktank@yahoo.com.

You must be logged in to comment.