Burket Green got into an altercation with Warren Hart in 1821.

On April 29, they scuffled and during this fight Burket Green got the upper hand. He “did beat and throw down the floor,” Warren Hart, who suffered serious wounds to the “head neck breast Belly sides and back.” Green kicked Hart viciously and, according to court documents, ended his homicidal frenzy with “one Mortal Bruise” behind Hart’s right ear. The killing punch landed with such force that it left an indentation in Warren Hart’s skull, it ran two inches long and was sunk an inch deep.

Hart suffered for several days. He languished from April 29th to May 4th, when the damage done during Burket Green’s awful spasm finally killed him.

A jury convicted him of manslaughter and sentenced him to a year in prison, on November 29, 1822.

That is not the end of the Burket Green story.

Just five months into his sentence, Burket Green got the upper hand on Daniel Rather, “the keeper of the Gaol” for the city of Huntsville. On April 10, 1823, he attacked Rather, and with “force and arms” secured his early release.

His newfound freedom was short-lived and the law caught up with him some days later. Burket Green got an additional fifty dollar fine for his escape. The county indicted Daniel Rather for his negligence in failing to secure Burket Green, but the jury remembered Green’s violence and dropped those charges.

The State of Alabama v. Burket Green, Madison County Alabama Circuit Court State Cases, 1819-1823. p. 127 (1823).

The State of Alabama v. Daniel Rather, Madison County Alabama Circuit Court State Cases, 1819-1823. p. 150 -151 (1823).

The State of Alabama v. Burket Green, Madison County Alabama Circuit Court State Cases, 1819-1823. p. 170 – 173 (1821).