In Upper Marlboro, the county courthouse became the focus of a major Civil Rights era protest after Judge William B. Bowie, presiding over a manslaughter trial on October 10, 1967, made openly racist remarks about Black people and knives, refused bond, and postponed sentencing even though both prosecution and defense recommended probation for the guilty defendant. Bowie said he was acting out of loyalty to older judge John B. Gray, whom he quoted as never hesitating to jail "colored knife wielders." The case drew outrage and condemnation from civil rights organizations, legal groups, and the media, and Governor Spiro Agnew asked Chief Judge Hall Hammond of the Maryland Court of Appeals to investigate. The matter went to the Judicial Disabilities Commission, which called Bowie's remarks "unfortunate" but said it found no evidence of racial prejudice. The NAACP then announced plans to picket the courthouse until Bowie was impeached, and in January 1968 about 200 protesters demonstrated against Agnew's refusal to take a position and urged Prince George's legislative delegation to introduce an impeachment bill. Agnew declined, citing separation of powers, and Bowie was not impeached, remaining on the Circuit Court until 1978.