Spencer Lawton was district attorney for Chatham County, Georgia, between 1981 and 2008, and for the Eastern Judicial Circuit.
13 Facts About Spencer Lawton
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Spencer Lawton was known for serving as the prosecutor of preservationist James Arthur Williams in his trial for the alleged murder of Danny Hansford.
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Spencer Lawton graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia.
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Spencer Lawton began at the University of Georgia School of Law in 1961.
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Spencer Lawton served in the US Air Force between 1962 and 1966, studying at Tulane University and graduating with a science degree.
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Spencer Lawton returned to UGA and graduated in 1971, after which he began working for Lawton, Simple and Chamblee, a firm begun by his great-grandfather.
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Spencer Lawton came to prominence as the prosecutor of preservationist James Arthur Williams in his trial for the alleged murder of Danny Hansford, a story documented in John Berendt's 1994 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
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Spencer Lawton was renamed Finley Largent in the 1997 movie adaptation, a role played by Bob Gunton.
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Spencer Lawton was assisted by Dep Kirkland in the first of the four trials.
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In 2008, Spencer Lawton was named District Attorney of the Year by the District Attorney's Association of Georgia.
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Spencer Lawton later became a journalist for his hometown newspaper, Savannah Morning News.
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Spencer Lawton was a relative of Alexander Lawton, a Confederate Army general and lawyer.
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Spencer Lawton died on November 13,2024 at his home in Savannah, Georgia from heart disease at the age of 81.