George Couper Gibbs

The 19 year old inmate, Arthur Maillefert, died in the Sunbeam Prison Camp in Florida. He was strangled by the chain that held him in place; he was unable to stand because his feet were in stocks. The Maillefert case of abuse received much attention and was reported in the New York Times.

During his time on the court, Gibbs was launched into national fame when he presided over a case involving the death of Arthur Maillefert. Maillefert was a 22-year-old drifter from New Jersey who moved to Florida to try to make it big as a criminal during the Great Depression. After being run out of Dade County in 1930, Maillefert was arrested following an armed robbery at a Daytona Beach gas station.[5] After being caught following his escape, Maillefert was sentenced to 9 years in the Sunbeam Prison Camp, also known as Road Camp 36, near Jacksonville. The prison utilized prisoner labor in order to clear out swampland for the creation of U.S. Route 1. One day while in solitary confinement for refusing to work, Maillefert was able to escape.[6]

On June 3, 1932, a guard, Solomon Higginbotham, chased Maillefert with two bloodhounds and recaptured him. The camp's warden, George Washington Courson, personally tied a chain around Maillefert's neck and left him in solitary confinement. When guards checked on him an hour later, Maillefert had asphyxiated.[7] After a sensational article by the New York Times garnered national attention, Courson and Higginbotham were both charged with first-degree murder. Gibbs, presiding over the trial, acquitted Higginbotham and sentenced Courson to 20-years of hard labor. The verdict was reversed on appeal and a new trial ordered which never took place.[5]

Gibbs retired from the court 3 years later, having served a total of 22 years on the bench. He returned to private practice in Jacksonville.

On May 16, 1938, Governor Fred P. Cone appointed Gibbs as the 26th Florida Attorney General, succeeding Cary D. Landis, who had died in office.[8] While he was in office, World War II began in Europe. In the 1940 commencement address at the University of Florida, Gibbs stressed the importance of patriotism in America, citing the lack of freedoms in Nazi Germany and the quick conquest of the neighboring countries. Gibbs did not seek a full term in the 1940 election, preferring to return to private practice.[4]