The Other Old Jail Suicide

In mid-December of 1942, A little over a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Joe Loggins, 31, of Nelson, Georgia, was incarcerated in the Old Jail on Jasper's Main Street. The previous Wednesday, December 16, Joe had gone to his in-law's house in a drunken stupor to confront his wife. He grabbed his youngest daughter Nancy and fled the scene to his brother-in-law's house and an arrest warrant was issued. Later that night Joe was apprehended by the Pickens County Sheriff, Fred Stancil.

Two nights later, Sheriff Stancil attempted to bring Joe his dinner when he discovered Joe's limp body tied up inside his cell. Because the body was still warm, Doctor E.A. Roper was called to the scene and administered CPR to no avail. Joe died from a broken neck and asphyxiation.

A thorough examination of the scene revealed that Joe had tied a bed sheet to the metal ceiling of his cell, and the other end around his neck. He jumped off a metal bucket to get the necessary height to snap his neck.

Joe was buried in Nelson at Bethesda Baptist Church in Nelson. His tombstone reads:

A Friend Gone,

Now at Rest.

The following week, Eva Loggins, his widow wrote a card of thanks in the Pickens Progress to everyone for remembering her husband and children's father. She issued a special thanks to Reverend Sam Allred for his consoling words.

Eva went on to remarry and to live a full live in Ludville. She passed in 1976.