37. The Confession of Alma Petty Gatlin

Hard Times and True Crimes

In the Spring of 1927, Reverend Tom 'Thunderbolt' Pardue traveled to the tobacco growing town of Reidsville, North Carolina to hold a revival in the big McCollum tobacco Warehouse. One night after the service, he was met by a beautiful young lady whose heart had been pricked by his message on the subject of confession. She had a confession to make. She had committed murder. She had murdered her own father. The reverend was conflicted. Was he to keep the secret of the young lady who had trusted him with her very soul? Or was his obligation to go to police for the sake of the citizens of Reidsville?
Sources:
Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth
Music: Isaiah Hildreth
Book Murder for Breakfast by Phil Link (Author)
Admissibility of Confidential Confession to Spiritual Adviser https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=4931&context=nclr
Seal of confession in the Catholic Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_confession_in_the_Catholic_Church#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20Court%20later%20ruled,heard%20during%20a%20sacramental%20confession.

reddit.com
newspapers.com
findagrave.com
If You Talk About a Crime In Catholic Confession Can The Priest Report it to Police https://www.quora.com/If-you-talk-about-a-crime-in-Catholic-confession-can-the-priest-report-it-to-the-police
Podcast Stuff You Learned in History: The Trial of Alma Petty Gatlin
In 44 States, Clergy Don't Have to Tell Police When Someone Confesses to Child Sex Abuse https://www.newsweek.com/utah-bill-confession-priests-sex-abuse-1449878
Photo Credit : Daily News from New York, New York Sunday March 28, 1928
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