The Huntsville Times, Thursday, May 17, 1956. Birmingham. A 57-year-old salesman found dead in a cell is believed to have been beaten to death, Homewood police said today. Officers said a taxicab driver who was in the same cell with Clarence L. Mason, a clothing salesman, was being held without charge for investigation. His name was not revealed pending completion of the inquiry. Mason was found dead in a cell of the jail in suburban Homewood yesterday. Investigators said preliminary examination of the body showed severe chest wounds and signs of internal bleeding. The booking officer at the jail said Mason’s chest was not injured when he was booked on a drunk charge. Mason and the driver had adjoining bunks. The driver also had been arrested on a drunk charge. There were three men and a youth in the cell. Mason was a native of Fayetteville, Tenn., who lived in Huntsville, Ala., before coming here in 1939. His wife said he was deacon of a Presbyterian Church while at Huntsville. The investigation was conducted by Homewood police and Deputy Coroner J. O. Butler.

The Huntsville Times, Thursday, May 17, 1956. Birmingham, Ala. Funeral services for Clarence L. Mason Sr., 57, will be held Friday at 9 a.m. from John’s Rideout Chapel, with the Rev. Mr. Mathes officiating. Following the rites, the body will be taken to Fayetteville, Tenn., for graveside services and burial at 2:30 p.m. at Rose Hill Cemetery. The son of the late Robert L. and Laura Lawler Mason of Fayetteville, he is survived by the widow, Mrs. Ida Mae Drake Mason; two daughters, Mrs. Bobby M. Baites of Huntsville and Miss Rowena Mason of Birmingham; one son, C. L. Mason Jr., of Huntsville; three sisters, Mrs. William Fowler of Huntsville, Mrs. Charles Strong of Huntsville and Mrs. Eakin Overall of Murfreesboro, Tenn.