His office was investigated in Operation Rocky Top, leading to his suicide.
A Democrat, he served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 (86th to 89th Tennessee General Assemblies), serving at various times as chairman of the General Welfare Committee, Rules Committee, and the House Democratic Caucus.
[1] In January 1979, while serving as secretary of state, Crowell witnessed Governor Ray Blanton's signature on the pardons and commutations of prison sentences that Blanton notoriously issued shortly before leaving office.
While signing the pardon of Roger Humphreys, the son of a Blanton supporter, who had been convicted of killing his ex-wife and a male companion in 1973,[3] Blanton stated, "this takes guts," to which Crowell, disgusted with the pardons, responded, "some people have more guts than they've got brains.
"[4] In 1989, the Tennessee Secretary of State's office was a target of an FBI investigation called Operation Rocky Top, due to involvement in a public corruption scandal involving fund-raising irregularities and fraudulent charity bingo operations.