Jesse Moore Battles

Jesse Moore Battles was born in 1935 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Most of his life was spent in penal institutions; when he was nine, he was sent to the Indiana Boys' School in Plainfield, IN.

In 1963, he was found guilty of the statutory rape of a teenage white girl and was sentenced to 2-21 years. An all-white jury took fifteen minutes to deliberate before finding him guilty.

While incarcerated at Indiana State Prison, he learned to read and write, and he wrote his first novel, Somebody Please Help Me, published in 1965. He also wrote frequently for the Indiana Recorder's letters to the editor section, "Voice of the People."

Battles died in June 1976 after being stabbed in prison.

Sources:

Battles, Jesse Moore. "‘What it be like out there world?'" The Indianapolis Recorder. 12 June 1976.

“BATTLES, JESSE MOORE: 1935-.” Indiana Authors and Their Books 1917-1966, webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inauthors/view?docId=encyclopedia/VAA5365-02&brand=ia-books.

“Jesse Battles' Lie Detector Test Taken Indicates Innocence.” The Indianapolis Recorder. 25 Feb. 1967.