A TRIBUTE TO JUDGE HARRY LEE COE III JUDGE HARRY LEE9 COE III (Harry Lee Jr.8, Harry Lee7, Jesse Franklin6, John Jr.5, John4, Timothy3, Timothy2, Timothy1) was found shot to death near his home in Tampa, FL, yesterday, July 13, 2000. The world is diminished by his passing. Unfortunately, few people outside of Florida knew Harry. Fortunately for Florida, few people inside the state did not. Born February 13, 1932, in Brooklyn, NY, he graduated from the University of Florida and Stetson University Law School. Afterward, he served two years in the US military at Fort Jackson, SC. Listed in the University of Florida Hall of Fame, he was an All Southeastern Conference baseball pitcher and was later drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He played professionally in the late 1950s before completing his law degree in 1962. During 22 years on the bench as a Florida circuit court judge he developed a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense jurist. He became known in Tampa as Hanging Harry, the judge criminals didn’t want to see. In 1992 he managed to defeat two-term Republican incumbent Bill James for state attorney. Sworn-in in 1993, almost immediately he prosecuted the case of two white Florida men who set Christopher Wilson, a Black tourist, on fire and left him for dead, which gained national attention. Legendary screen actor Gregory Peck, who played forthright lawyer Atticus Finch who stands up to racial prejudice in the 1962 film To Kill A Mockingbird, wrote to Harry on September 8, 1993, praising him for his resolve and stating you have played the role of Atticus Finch in real life, taken on the challenge and won an important victory for all of us. In all, Hanging Harry sent more felons to Florida state prison than any other state attorney. Active in the Boys Club of Tampa and in various anti-drug programs, his death leaves a terrible void in the lives of those who knew him and a sense of loss in those with whom he came in contact. Modest and unassuming, Harry told no one of his former life as a college hall of famer or major league pitcher. His oldest son, Harry Lee Coe IV, recently mentioned that he discovered that his father was in the University of Florida Hall of Fame by stumbling across the plaque. Harry came from good people. His grandfather Harry Lee Coe I, who was born April 5, 1873, in Lebanon, TN, and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1902, served as Lebanon’s first mayor. His father Harry Lee Coe Jr., who was born February 15, 1909, in Lebanon, served as a combat engineer during WW II and was later executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue. His great grandfather Captain Jesse Franklin Coe, a prominent merchant and city councilman in Lebanon, served as chief commissary agent and general clerk of the commissary department of the Confederate government during the Civil War. Tampa police Major K.C. Newcomb often had cases brought before Coe when he worked as a homicide detective and Coe was a judge. ``He was a friend of the police,'' he said. ``You could count on him to have integrity.'' Newcomb said he recently was impressed with Coe's stamina and political instincts. Tampa News Channel 8 aired a special report Monday night on Coe after promoting the story throughout the weekend during the network's coverage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times followed with stories Tuesday, and the media ran other segments through Wednesday when Harry disappeared. The judge was found shot to death beneath an underpass near his apartment by reporters from News Channel 8 on Thursday about noon. John Feegel, the county's former medical examiner, said he would investigate the death as a homicide. ``Regardless of the circumstances, I'd wring this one dry to make sure there isn't somebody else involved,'' Feegel said. Carl Robert Coe Marysville, OH 43040-9012