Joseph Hunter Norman, Jr. was born on March 1, 1882, in Enfield, North Carolina. Norman served as the physician for the state prison farm at Halifax beginning in June 1917. In 1919, he was named as a participant, alongside farm superintendent Curtis J. Rhem, in the torture of an African American inmate. The case drew quite a bit of press attention, but in the end, Gov. Thomas W. Bickett allowed both Norman and Rhem to keep their jobs. Norman went on to become physician and warden of the Central Prison in Raleigh during the administration of Gov. Angus W. McLean. He died in Bath (Beaufort County) on June 23, 1949.