From the „every accusation is a confession“ files:
A cold case investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded that late sheriff Buford Pusser murdered his wife and staged it to frame others.
It was his tough-on-crime, I-was-also-a-victim lies that propelled Sheriff Pusser to national fame and caught the attention of Hollywood. The film Walking Tall (1973), a box-office hit, is a classic of its genre and inspired men to join the police. The 2004 remake starred Dwayne „The Rock“ Johnson.
Pusser claimed that unidentified assailants pulled alongside their car and opened fire, killing his wife. However, reexamination of the crime scene evidence shows that he killed her outside the car and then inflicted himself with a shot to the cheek. The exhumed body of Pusser‘s wife, Pauline, showed he had also battered her prior to her murder.
“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” Davidson said in a news conference streamed online. “The truth matters. Justice matters. Even 58 years later. Pauline deserves both.”
Rest in peace, Pauline.
Rest in shit, Buford.
Comments
the patriarchy glorifies violent men, even murderers. hollywood’s got a long history of erasing women’s pain. justice for pauline. we need more women in power to change these narratives.
I am so glad she’s somewhat got some justice now, too bad that fucker is already dead.
[removed]
The Cliff Booth classic
holy shit. there’s a doctoral dissertation here on toxic masculinity but I’m not the one who can write it
It’s been a long, long time, but didn’t the movie have his wife’s death at the hands of criminals as part of his motivation to get justice? Ick.
Imagine getting married, maybe having kids with a man, and he begins abusing you. You put up with it more and more. You know there isn’t much anyone can do, given his position. You keep thinking things will be better but they only seem to get worse.
Then he kills you, lies about it and the whole world celebrates him.
That’s what we risk when we stay in abusive relationships. Hell, that’s what we risk when we marry a man. Getting murdered by him, and the world celebrating his lies.
No I’m pretty sure we should be tearing down that particular legend. What a piece of shit.
Aw man I liked the movie with Dwayne Johnson.
It’s good to see that someone’s already updated all the Wikipedia articles to mention the new developments. On the article about Pusser himself “On August 29, 2025, the TBI and the District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District announced that, were he alive, there would be probable cause to charge Buford Pusser with the death of Pauline.”
It doesn’t say that on the Dwayne Johnson version because it’s only inspired by Pusser’s account; the story and setting are completely different. Someone should change that. Not me though I don’t have edit access.
Karma’s a b*tch. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
I was surprised to read that the reason the case was re-opened after all this time was simply a systematic review of cold cases.
I was also a little surprised that getting shot in the cheek (edited to add- shooting oneself in the cheek, rather) merited 18 days in the hospital and several surgeries; I guess medical care was a little different in 1967.
Very bittersweet to read how meaningful this was to her brother, who is still living.
He shot himself in the face?? On purpose?!?!? Jfc
I’m from this area. My mom, aunt, uncle, grandmother and grandfather all had parts in the original movie. I am immensely unsurprised that this is the case. I’ve had the story relayed to me by a man that knew Buford, and it always sounded like it was made for Hollywood. I would put money on it that he’s in denial about it right now. He also thinks I’m a Republican. Why? I guess because I’m a white dude in a management position.
Thing is that there were a lot of these tough law enforcement people around in the same time frame, similar stories. Most of them with checkered ways of handling crime that made them look just as bad, if not worse than the people they were apprehending.
There was a book, “A Chronicle of Law Enforcement in the South,” written about neighboring Jackson’s cops and detectives. It was showcase some of the crimes that had been addressed, acquisitions of equipment like helicopters, vehicles, and PA systems. What it ignored was the cops chasing people off of balconies and causing catastrophic injuries that would get the city sued, cops busting stills just to come in and claim the product, the same cop totaling out (by his admission) 11 squad cars during his tenure and incurring at least one lawsuit over it.
Law Enforcement in this area is still dubious. There’s a case of a man in the same area that killed seven dogs. This pissed the public off and induced some digging. Turns out he was involved in two officer involved shootings in Jackson, one justified, one more or less inconclusive. The TBI is now reopening their fact finding mission on that case, and I suspect that they will find that this man, at a minimum, tried to escalate the situation such that at least one of those was going to end in a loss of life.
Buford Pusser?
💀
Unfortunate
a cop that beats women?
i’m shocked, i tell you, shocked!
(not to make light of this, but cops beating their spouses (and killing them) is a very common thing.
i wish society cared more about this .
Never heard about this until now but I cannot say I’m surprised. RIP Pauline.
Wait how is this possible
Drive-By Truckers have a number of songs dedicated to what a POS Pusser was.
> “This case is not about tearing down a legend.
The fuck it isnt. That bastard murdered his wife, and you refuse to condem him? We say ACAB for a reason, and you’re validating that reason.
I listened to a podcast recently about this case. Gone South S4|E7: The Real Buford Pusser & S4/E8. Each only abiut 30 minutes. It is a pretty thorough recounting with interviews of locals and people who knew him.
“he likes to brag how he wrestled a bear
but I knew him from the funeral home.
Ask him for a warrant, he’d say I keep it my shoe
that sumbitch has got to go“
Opportunity p fgx c f c
Saw this. Walking Tall. Heh.