Joan Little Trial: 1975

It didn't take long for prosecutor Griffin to isolate the weak spots in Little's testimony. How had the ice pick, an item normally kept in an outer office, suddenly materialized in Alligood's hand? She didn't know. How was she able to fight off Alligood? "He was a big man, wasn't he?"

"Yes," admitted Little.

Griffin pushed harder. Why had she not screamed? Why no attempt to fight back? Why, when Alligood was removing his trousers, had she not attempted to escape his clutches then? Little's answers were inconclusive but not incriminating. Nothing she said was inconsistent with her version of events in the cell.

One of the jurors, when the verdict was in, commented, "I thought about it … and I decided that these people [the prosecution] hadn't shown me anything to convict her," a sentiment echoed by fellow jurors. After less than 90 minutes of reflection, they found Little not guilty.

Following acquittal, Little was returned to prison to finish her seven-year robbery sentence. On October 15, 1977, she again escaped, but was recaptured and finished out her term. She resurfaced briefly in 1989 when she spent a night in jail on stolen property charges which were later dropped.

There was something in this case for everyone: civil rights activists, church groups, feminists. All made capital from what was a unique situation.