Memorials, 0720 ALBJ, Vol. 81 No. 4 Pg. 264 (July, 2020)
| Author | Arnold Charles Freeman Judge Roger Dale Halcomb Judge George S. Wright |
| Position | Vol. 81 4 Pg. 264 |
Arnold Charles Freeman
Arnold Charles "Charley" Freeman, supernumerary district attorney from Tuscaloosa County, passed away on December 26, 2018 at the age of 80. Charley served as the district attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit from 1980 until 1997. He was a member of the Alabama State Bar for over 50 years.
Charley attended Howard College (now Samford University) before graduating from the University of Alabama with a B.A. degree and a Juris Doctor degree, class of 1967. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa for Outstanding Alumni in 1994.
Charley married Annette Smith while they were in college, and they were married for 57 years until his death. Charley was born in Lamar County, and he graduated from Kennedy High School in 1956. Annette was a native of Fayette County, but moved to Birmingham in 1956. Charley and Annette were active members in the Methodist Church and were members of Forest Lake United Methodist Church and later First United Methodist Church, both in Tuscaloosa.
After graduation, Charley joined the Tuscaloosa firm of Dominick, Roberts & Davidson, and later served as a deputy district attorney for District Attorney Louis Lackey from 1969 until 1974 when he was appointed assistant attorney general for the State Oil and Gas Board and Geological Survey of Alabama. He served in that office until he was elected district attorney in 1980. Charley was elected D.A. three consecutive terms, running unopposed in the second and third elections in 1986 and 1992.
When Charley ran for D.A., his campaign motto was "Firm but Fair." For Charley, that was not just a motto, but a mantra that guided his career and service to the people as well as to the legal profession. Charley worked tirelessly to hold those who committed crimes accountable for their actions. But, he also worked just as tirelessly to implement programs designed to help both the victims of crime as well as defendants to give them a fresh start and fight recidivism.
Charley taught his assistant district attorneys that we were the attorneys for the people, but also we were there not only to convict the guilty, but to exonerate the innocent. We were there to do justice, but also, as he often said, "remember to add some mercy." Charley was a tough prosecutor who fought tirelessly for victims and their rights, but he was never overzealous with...
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