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At first, Drew, a physically large man who commonly wore suspenders, practiced law in Minden with his father, whose circuit judgeship had ended in 1913.<ref name=hcdrew/>​

At first, Drew, a physically large man who commonly wore suspenders, practiced law in Minden with his father, whose circuit judgeship had ended in 1913.<ref name=hcdrew/>​

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==Axe-murder case==​

==Axe-murder case==

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On December 8, 1916, Drew assumed the post of Webster Parish district attorney. Less than a month in office,<ref>List of District Attorneys of Webster Parish, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1971,'' Webster Parish Police Jury publication.</ref> Drew was compelled to prosecute a bizarre murder case in the Grove community north of Minden. On Christmas Day of that year, the family of John Nelson Reeves, including his wife Maude and three of their four children, was bludgeoned to death by a group of axe-wielding men. The presumed motive for the killing was money that Reeves, who distrusted banks, had boasted of having stashed away in a mattress in his house. The district judge in the case was John Nicholas Sandlin, later a [[U.S. Representative]] and like Drew an intra-party opponent of the [[Huey Long|Longs]].<ref>Marilyn Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light'' (Many, [[Louisiana]]: Sweet Dreams Publishing Co., 2000), pp. Foreword, 1-4, {{ISBN|1-893693-09-0}}</ref>​

On December 8, 1916, Drew assumed the post of Webster Parish district attorney. Less than a month in office,<ref>List of District Attorneys of Webster Parish, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1971,'' Webster Parish Police Jury publication.</ref> Drew was compelled to prosecute a bizarre murder case in the Grove community north of Minden. On Christmas Day of that year, the family of John Nelson Reeves, including his wife Maude and three of their four children, was bludgeoned to death by a group of axe-wielding men. The presumed motive for the killing was money that Reeves, who distrusted banks, had boasted of having stashed away in a mattress in his house. The district judge in the case was John Nicholas Sandlin, later a [[U.S. Representative]] and like Drew an intra-party opponent of the [[Huey Long|Longs]].<ref>Marilyn Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light'' (Many, [[Louisiana]]: Sweet Dreams Publishing Co., 2000), pp. Foreword, 1-4, {{ISBN|1-893693-09-0}}</ref>​

Two [[African American]] men, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, were convicted and scheduled for execution for the five murders. However, the then Governor  John M. Parker, acting on a recommendation from Judge Sandlin, [[commuted]] their sentences to twenty years in prison. Both were released on April 18, 1936.<ref>Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light,'' pp, 187-188, 193.</ref> A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Long escaped in 1922 and was never apprehended, and Waller died of [[tuberculosis]] in prison in 1926.<ref>Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light'', pp. 187, 193.</ref>​

Two [[African American]] men, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, were convicted and scheduled for execution for the five murders. However, the then Governor  John M. Parker, acting on a recommendation from Judge Sandlin, [[commuted]] their sentences to twenty years in prison. Both were released on April 18, 1936.<ref>Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light,'' pp, 187-188, 193.</ref> A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Long escaped in 1922 and was never apprehended, and Waller died of [[tuberculosis]] in prison in 1926.<ref>Miller, ''Sons of Darkness Sons of Light'', pp. 187, 193.</ref>​

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==Judicial tenure==​

==Judicial tenure==

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In 1926, Drew was elected judge of the 2nd Judicial District, soon renamed the 26th District, covering Bossier and Webster parishes.<ref>List of Judges of Webster Parish, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1971.''</ref> Drew served three years on the lower court. He was elected in 1928 to the circuit court, on which he served for two six-year terms from 1930 to 1942. More than a year passed from his election to this court to his taking of the office.<ref>"Judge Harmon C. Drew Submits Unconditional Resignation to Governor Long,", ''Minden Signal-Tribune,'' September 11, 1929, p. 1.</ref>​

In 1926, Drew was elected judge of the 2nd Judicial District, soon renamed the 26th District, covering Bossier and Webster parishes.<ref>List of Judges of Webster Parish, ''Webster Parish Centennial Booklet, 1971.''</ref> Drew served three years on the lower court. He was elected in 1928 to the circuit court, on which he served for two six-year terms from 1930 to 1942. More than a year passed from his election to this court to his taking of the office.<ref>"Judge Harmon C. Drew Submits Unconditional Resignation to Governor Long,", ''Minden Signal-Tribune,'' September 11, 1929, p. 1.</ref>​