Ralph Edward Harwell died on July 30, 2013. He was 69 years old. Ralph was known by many Knoxvillians for his resolute commitment to defending the underdog - both professionally in his criminal law practice, devoting 36 years of his life to defending those he referred to as the "unjustly accused," and personally in acts of compassion, generosity, and considered provocation. After graduating from law school and working as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Ralph joined the Knox County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor for seven years. He entered into private practice in 1976. In 1980, he and Randall Nichols founded the firm of Harwell and Nichols. The firm was later known as Harwell, Baumgartner, and Willis. More recently, Ralph practiced with his long-time associate Tracy Jackson Smith, and then with his son Jonathan. He proclaimed himself to be “all speed and no direction,” but his office ran smoothly with the help for many years of Judy Love Cohan and for the past ten years of his paralegal Kay Bacot. Ralph was a past president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and served on the Tennessee Sentencing Commission, helping draft the criminal code for Tennessee. He was certified as a criminal trial specialist by both the National Trial Advocacy Board and the Tennessee Commission on Specialization. Ralph is survived by his wife of 47 years, Beverly Hopkins Harwell; and two children, Jonathan Harwell (Dr. Sally Seraphin) of Knoxville and Amy Harwell (Rev. Battle Beasley) of Nashville. Ralph was inordinately proud of the fact that both his children followed in his footsteps to practice criminal law: Amy as a public defender and Jonathan as Ralph's law partner for the last several years.