Ray Jenkins

Ray Howard Jenkins (March 18, 1897 – December 26, 1980) was an American lawyer, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the surrounding region, throughout much of the 20th century. He is best known for his role as special counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations during the 1954 Army-McCarthy Hearings, earning broad praise for his aggressive questioning of the hearings' two complainants, Senator Joseph McCarthy and Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens. Jenkins appeared on the cover of Time at the height of the hearings on May 17, 1954.

In a career that spanned nearly six decades, Jenkins defended over 600 accused murderers, and never lost a client to the death penalty. At the time of the Army-McCarthy Hearings, he was described as "the best trial lawyer in East Tennessee." Jenkins' courtroom style, which often involved ruthlessly assailing the character of his clients' accusers, earned him the nickname, "The Terror of Tellico Plains."

Early life Jenkins was born in Unaka (in Cherokee County), the second child of Columbus Sheridan "Lum" Jenkins, a physician, and Amanda Nicholson. Erby's younger brother, Aubrey, joined the firm in 1940. In court, Jenkins accused the photographer of harassing and goading McNew, and even had McNew, who had fallen ill, wheeled in on a stretcher to testify. McNew was eventually acquitted of attempted murder, but convicted of lesser charges and fined. Nickerson had been part of a team tasked with developing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and had leaked information about the team's progress after the Defense Department cancelled the Army's involvement in the project. The Army eventually dropped the most serious charges when the defense team requested access to classified documents, and Nickerson was convicted of only minor offenses. The defense claimed Newberry was temporarily insane, having been provoked by taunting from Gowder. The house still stands on Cherokee Boulevard, though the university has since sold it.

Jenkins' memoir, entitled, The Terror of Tellico Plains, was published by the East Tennessee Historical Society in 1979.