Ossian H. Sweet House - Aftermath

Aftermath

The NAACP promised to help the defense, and brought in Clarence Darrow as chief counsel. He was assisted by Arthur Garfield Hays and Walter M. Nelson. Frank Murphy was the presiding judge. The jury consisted of twelve white men. Despite this, Darrow built an impressive case arguing self-defense, and the case ended in a hung jury. The prosecution retried a single defendant, Ossian's brother Henry, but the second trial ended in an acquittal. The verdict in this case was not guilty, and no further effort was made to prosecute Ossian Sweet or the other defendants.

After the trials, Ossian Sweet rented the home on Garland to a white couple until 1930, when he moved back into the house. However, both his wife and two-year-old daughter Iva died of tuberculosis in 1926. Sweet remarried twice, but divorced each time. In 1946, he sold the house, moving into the flat above a pharmacy he owned. In 1960, Sweet took his own life.

A State of Michigan historical marker stands in front of the house at 2905 Garland.