Author Terrence Schultz Speaks to Mississippi College Criminal Justice Students

Author Terry Schultz of Memphis

Memphis police officer Robert Hester was killed when he was beaten and tortured after being taken hostage by a religious cult.

Author Terrence Schultz of Memphis details the shocking events of what happened in the Tennessee city in January 1983. A 34-year-old patrolman, Hester was held hostage for 30 hours before he was beaten to death. There were seven cultists slain in a shootout with police in an assault on a three-bedroom house on Shannon Street in north Memphis.

Schultz will discuss his book “Hostage/Murder in Memphis” when he speaks at Mississippi College on April 20. The event is set for 6 p.m. that Monday evening in Self Hall’s Trehern Lecture Hall on the Clinton campus. The program is free and open to the public.

The Memphis author will do more than just spotlight his book. “My intention is to talk about policing in general, then and now.”

Today, the deadly shootout at the house at 2239 Shannon Street remains etched in the memories of Memphis residents. In media reports in January 1983, authorities said the men in the house were members of a Bible-reading cult that believed police were agents of the Devil. Hundreds of police officers got involved after two of their men were abducted.

Harry Porter, director of Mississippi College’s Administration of Justice Program, is encouraging MC faculty, staff, students, members of the Clinton community and law enforcement officers to attend the lecture.

Phi Zeta Rho, a criminal justice club at MC will sponsor the event. Phi Zeta Rho’s chapter at the Baptist-affiliated university joined Lambda Alpha Epsilon of the American Criminal Justice Association in 1990.

During his presentation, Schultz will also talk about the family of the hostage takers, how the crisis impacted them and the reaction in the Memphis community. He will field questions from the audience. The program should last about 90 minutes.

For more information, contact Harry Porter at 601-925-3266 or hporter@mc.edu