After being acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of George Henry Doaks Jr., Jesse Hill Ford had to face other personal problems.

Previously, Ford’s income had benefitted greatly from hefty speaking fees he earned on the academic/celebrity lecture circuit. Because of his legal troubles, however, those speaking invitations became fewer.

To pay off his attorneys’ fees and other debts, Ford had to sell his home and land. The estate, worth $350,000 (approximately $2,500,000 today), had few potential buyers and sold at auction for $88,000.

Then, two years after his criminal trial, Ford was...