Everett Farmer

Everett Farmer (1902 in Shelburne, Nova Scotia[1] – December 11[2] or 14[3] or 15,[4] 1937 in Shelburne) was the last person in Nova Scotia to be executed.

Background

On the evening of August 1, 1937, Farmer shot and killed his half-brother Zachariah,[3] then walked into town and turned himself in to police.[1] Farmer said that the killing had been in self-defence, claiming that after a drunken argument, Zachariah had refused to leave Farmer's home, and had threatened to kill him.[1]

Since Farmer was unable to afford legal representation, and the province of Nova Scotia had no legal aid system at the time,[1] Vincent Pottier was appointed to represent Farmer free of charge.[3]

The trial began on September 28, 1937,[1] with Justice William F. Carroll presiding.[3]

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Farmer guilty.[1]

In December of that year, Farmer was hanged from a gallows that had been constructed in the Shelburne County Courthouse where his trial had taken place.[5]

Aftermath

George Elliot Clarke has described the case as "suspect", in terms of how the prosecution, conviction and execution of Farmer may have been influenced not only by Farmer's inability to afford proper legal representation, but by the fact that he was black.[6]

In 2005, Farmer's case served as the basis for Louise Delisle's play The Days of Evan.[7]

References
  1. Nova Scotian never really had a chance when he went to trial for murder, by Max Haines, in the Amherst Daily News; published April 23, 2008; retrieved February 19, 2015
  2. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, 1754-2004: From Imperial Bastion to Provincial Oracle, by Philip Girard, Jim Phillips, and Barry Cahill; published January 1, 2004, by University of Toronto Press; via Google Books
  3. Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia: Legal Milestones, at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia; published 2004; retrieved February 20, 2015
  4. N.S. KILLER HANGED: Everett Farmer Pays Penalty for Brother's Murder, in the Montreal Gazette (via Google News Archive); published December 16, 1937; retrieved February 20, 2015
  5. Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia: Courthouses, at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia; published 2004; retrieved February 20, 2015
  6. Directions Home: Approaches to African-Canadian Literature, by George Elliot Clarke; published 2012, by University of Toronto Press (via Google Books)
  7. 'Symposia' in the Drama of trey anthony and Louise Delisle, by George Elliot Clarke, in Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théatrales au Canada, January 2009. ISSN 1913-9101. Retrieved February 6, 2016
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