On a quiet Sunday morning in Steele, Alabama, the life of Deputy Sheriff John Wesley O'Bryen, a 43-year-old male, was brought to a tragic and abrupt end. On September 1, 1929, as he was leaving a church service, he was ambushed and fatally shot. The brazen attack occurred in front of horrified members of the congregation who witnessed a man walk up to the deputy and fire three shots.
After O'Bryen fell to the ground, the assailant fired two more rounds into his body.
The motive for the killing appeared to be an act of retaliation. Earlier that same day, Deputy O'Bryen had conducted a raid on the home of his killer and seized a gallon of bootleg liquor. The man, a 23-year-old, seemingly sought immediate revenge for the confiscation of his illicit alcohol. In a surprising turn of events following the shooting, the suspect did not attempt to flee the scene. Instead, he immediately surrendered to the sheriff who was also present.
The confessed killer was taken into custody and the legal process began. He was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and received a sentence of 15 years in prison for the death of Deputy O'Bryen. However, the case would take another turn in June of 1930 when the convicted man was granted a new trial. He was once again found guilty of second-degree murder, but this time his sentence was reduced to 10 years.
Ultimately, the man responsible for the murder of Deputy Sheriff John Wesley O'Bryen did not serve his full sentence. On May 24, 1939, nearly a decade after he took the life of the lawman, he was granted parole and released from prison.
