A Land More Kind than Home

Barefield recalls the incident when his son died. He was notified to come to the location of a dead body in a road. When he arrived, he found that the body had been dragged into the woods and covered with a sheet. It became apparent that Jeff, an electrician, had died during some type of electrical accident on the job. Barefield, angry that the foreman—Jimmy Hall—was not there, asked the crew if Jimmy had been drinking when he left them, but they were unsure.

Barefield drove to Jimmy’s home, but he was not there. As Barefield drove away, he noticed tire tracks in the snow, leading up a hill. He followed them until the police cruiser became stuck in the snow. Barefield continued on foot up the hill until he reached Jimmy’s truck. Jimmy was inside, drunk; Barefield pulled him out and beat him with the barrel of his gun. Jimmy insisted that Jeff’s death had been accidental and that his crew could attest to this. Barefield considered shooting Jimmy but instead removed the keys from his truck and threw them far off into the snow so that Jimmy could not drive home drunk.

He walked back to the cruiser and radioed dispatch to come tow him out.