I Come From a Long Line of Criminals ‹ CrimeReads

"Going down the steps with a gun in his hands"

Our family's criminal history used to be a secret. Before Google, it was easy to hide your past.

When my grandmother Effie Satterwhite was 17, she had a boyfriend named Jim. According to her brother's court testimony, he once caught them "conducting themselves in what he thought a very unbecoming manner on the front porch." He ordered Effie inside, and told Jim never to come back. But Jim declared he wished to marry her.

A few months later, when the young couple returned from a date, Jim tried to kiss her, but Effie pushed him away. When the town clock rang eleven, Jim said he had to go. This time she did let him kiss her.

Once inside, Effie saw her father run down the porch stairs with a shotgun, then heard a shot. She tried to run to Jim, but her father shouted at her, telling her she had gotten him into trouble with her hugging and kissing.