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- Birmingham News, Alabama, Tuesday, November 5, 2002
Rodger Bass
Bass, Lawyer for Cherry, Found Dead at 39
Rodger Bass, a lawyer who defended convicted Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bomber Bobby Frank Cherry, was found dead Sunday in his car in Shelby County. Bass was 39.
Foul play is not suspected in Bass' death, which was listed as undetermined Monday, said Shelby County Coroner Doug Ballard. Ballard said the Alabama Department of Forensics has conducted an autopsy, but must also do toxicology and microscopic exams.
Ballard said all indications are that Bass' death was natural, but he won't know until the toxicology and microscopic reports are submitted. "He had no obvious signs of injury," Ballard said.
Bass was in his car on Bay Lane in the Shelby community near Lay Lake waiting on a friend when he died, Ballard said. Ballard said Bass was sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running when the friend found him about 4 p.m. in the driveway. The outdoor temperature at that time was 48 degrees.
The friend called 911. When paramedics arrived, they found Bass with no signs of life, Ballard said. Bass, of Pelham, also had a house at Lay Lake.
Bass and law partner Mickey Johnson defended Cherry, 72, this year in the 1963 church bombing that killed four girls. Bass always maintained that Cherry, who now is serving four life sentences, was innocent. "If I believed one minute Bobby Cherry killed these four girls, I would not represent him," Bass once said in an interview.
Doug Jones, a special prosecutor in the Cherry case, said all the dealings he had with Bass and Johnson on the case were pleasant and friendly, which helped things go a lot smoother.
"Rodger was a believer in his client and in the case, but that didn't stand in the way of him being a courteous professional," Jones said. "He was a zealous advocate of his client. It was a pleasure working with him on that case."
Bass, married and the father of two, owned the two-story building he and Johnson worked in on U.S. Highway 31 in Pelham. He often drove a silver Lexus with the license tag "N OCENT," and smoked cigarettes and chatted during courtroom breaks.
Retired Alabaster Police Chief Larry Rollan, who worked as an investigator for the Cherry defense team, manned the phones at the office Monday. Many left messages of condolences. "He was just a one-of-a-kind person," Rollan said.
Bass grew up in Maylene. He was a Thompson High graduate, and received a political science degree from the University of Montevallo in 1987. He spent five years in the Army before attending Birmingham School of Law, graduating in 1993.
Birmingham lawyer Joe Morgan III and Bass were law school classmates. "He's always been tenacious, very aggressive," Morgan said. "He never backed away from any challenge."
Southern Heritage Funeral Home & Cemetery in Pelham will handle arrangements.
(Rodger D. Bass, born 1 Feb 1963 (SSDI), died 3 Nov 2002 (SSDI))
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Bassett Family Association Database
1963 - 2002 (39 years)