Murder in the French Quarter: The Forgotten Story of Fernando Rios

In September 1958, Fernando Rios traveled to New Orleans as a tour guide. After a night in the French Quarter, he accepted an invitation from a college student, unaware of what awaited him in a nearby alleyway—an encounter that ended in robbery, a brutal beating, and one of the most controversial murder trials in the city's history.

Join me as we uncover Fernando's forgotten story, explore the anti-LGBTQ climate of the 1950s, and examine what happens when prejudice overshadows justice.

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Sources:

Delery, Clayton. Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. McFarland, 2017.

(🔗 Book link) https://amzn.to/3RjLwyO

"Clayton Delery: Out for Queer Blood." Just One More Question, hosted by Marcus Veazey and Aleks Litts, 9 Sept. 2024

(🔗Link to listen) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-one-more-question/id1874364748?i=1000747902471

https://www.claytondelery.com/single-post/2017/09/28/the-murder-of-fernando-rios

https://www.claytondelery.com/single-post/2017/10/05/deja-vu

https://www.claytondelery.com/about-the-books

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Fernando_Rios

https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/

https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/

https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045373/

https://ngpasites.newsbank.com/explore/newspapers/all/usa/louisiana/new-orleans/times-picayune

https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/1960/240-la-75-0.html

https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/state-v-calvo-no-889943780

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/summer/lavender.html

https://www.archives.gov/research/lgbt/federal-employment

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10450.html

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/public/TrumanCIA/documents/1947-1953/1950-12-15.pdf

https://time.com/5922679/lavender-scare-history/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/lavender-scare.htm