[1] Born on November 28, 1933, in Shreveport, Louisiana,[2] Henderson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1956.

[3] Henderson was sent to the South to monitor local law enforcement for any civil rights abuses, a role that included investigating the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which killed four girls.

In this capacity, he became acquainted with Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement after winning over their initial skepticism of a government attorney.

[3] He took inactive senior status on August 11, 2017, meaning that while he remains a federal judge, he no longer hears cases or participates in the business of the court.

He rejected attempts by the Clinton and Bush administrations to relax legal standards on fishing practices and loosen dolphin safe labeling on tuna.

In a landmark 1995 civil rights case, Madrid v. Gomez, Henderson found the use of force and level of medical care at Pelican Bay State Prison unconstitutional.