[1][2] However, Keady learned to adapt, often playing tennis with his friend, William Alexander Percy, and collecting stamps in his free time.
[3] Keady served as a delegate at the 1940, 1944, and 1960 Democratic National Conventions, but decided to take a step back from state legislature to focus on his legal practice.
"[1] The types of issues that came to his court included voting rights, school desegregation, racial and sexual bias in jury selection, etc.
"[1] Keady was respected by lawyers for his intelligence and “even-handed demeanor,” though he didn’t get much media attention until 1972, when he covered what is now a landmark court case, Gates v.
Another important thing Keady did was add a subclass of black convicts, since racial discrimination had been a key characteristic of Mississippi State Penitentiary since it was founded in 1904.
[7] The Mississippi Delta’s nationally infamous penitentiary, Parchman Farm, serves as a vital depiction of racial brutality in America post-Civil war.
At every camp, he saw, “filthy bathrooms, rotting mattresses, polluted water supplies, and kitchens overrun with insects, rodents, and the stench of decay.
"[1] In court, Keady said, “The record is replete with innumerable instances of physical brutality and abuse in disciplining inmates who are sent to MSU.
"[1][6] Keady believed that “its failure to provide adequate housing, medical care, and physical protection” violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
[8] The Fifth Circuit ended up agreeing with the lower court’s earlier decision, resulting in the abolishment of racial segregation of inmates as well as the trusty system.