U.S. Department of Justice

FBI News Release
Jackson Field Office

FBI JACKSON, PUBLIC AFFAIRS
DEBORAH MADDEN
(601) 948-5000

Press Release
For Immediate Release
February 12, 2009

In February 2006, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) enacted an initiative to identify and closely examine all unsolved hate crimes resulting in death that occurred prior to 1970. A review of cold case civil rights matters that met the above criteria was conducted and, with the help of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, as well as community leaders and civic organizations, numerous cases of unsolved violent crimes from the Civil Rights era are now being thoroughly examined and reinvestigated.

The Jackson Division of the FBI, which covers the state of Mississippi, was assigned 43 such cases. We are actively assessing each one to determine whether any new information can be developed which will help resolve these matters or lead to the identification and prosecution of responsible individuals if evidence indicates a crime was committed. While it is realized not every case will be resolved and, in some cases, the perpetrators may no longer be alive or there may be no federal prosecutorial jurisdiction, the Jackson Division is aggressively moving forward in investigating these cases while utilizing the updated analytical and forensic tools available to law enforcement today.

The names of the following deceased individuals represent the possible unsolved hate crime casesoccurring during the Civil Rights era which were received by the FBI’s Jackson Division:

LOUIS ALLEN     

Date of Death: January 31, 1964

Location: Liberty, Mississippi

BENJAMIN BROWN

Date of Death: May 10, 1967

Location: Jackson, Mississippi

CHARLES BROWN

Date of Death: June 20, 1957
Location: Yazoo City, Mississippi

JESSIE BROWN

Date of Death: January 13, 1965

Location: Winona, Mississippi

ELI BRUMFIELD

Date of Death: October 13, 1961

Location: McComb, Mississippi

SILAS CASTON

Date of Death: March 1, 1964

Location: Jackson, Mississippi

VINCENT DAHMON

Date of Death: May-July, 1966 (circa James Meredith's March Against Fear)
Location: Natchez, Mississippi

WOODROW WILSON DANIELS  
Date of Death: June 25, 1958

Location: Yalobusha County, Mississippi

ROMAN DUCKSWORTH

Date of Death: April, 1961 or 1962
Location: Taylorsville, Mississippi

PHELD EVANS   

Date of Death: 1964

Location: Canton, Mississippi

J. E. EVANSTON

Date of Death: Unknown; Body discovered December 24, 1955
Location: Tallahatchie, Mississippi

JASPER GREENWOOD

Date of Death: June 30, 1964
Location: Vicksburg, Mississippi

JIMMIE GRIFFEN (or GRIFFIN)

Date of Death: September 24, 1965
Location: Near Sturgis, Mississippi

PAUL GUIHARD

Date of Death: September 30, 1962
Location: Oxford, Mississippi

ADLENA HAMLETT and BIRDIA KEGLAR

Date of Death: January 11, 1966
Location: Sidon, Mississippi

LUTHER JACKSON

Date of Death: October, 1959
Location: Philadelphia, Mississippi

WHARLEST JACKSON

Date of Death: February 27, 1967
Location: Natchez, Mississippi

ERNEST JELLS

Date of Death: October 20, 1963
Location: Clarksdale, Mississippi

GEORGE LEE

Date of Death: May 7, 1955
Location: Belzoni, Mississippi

HERBERT LEE

Date of Death: September 25, 1961
Location: Unknown

WILLIAM LEE

Date of Death: February 25, 1965
Location: Rankin County, Mississippi

GEORGE LOVE

Date of Death: January 7, 1958
Location: Ruleville, Mississippi

SYLVESTER MAXWELL

Date of Death: Unknown; Body discovered on January 17, 1963
Location: Canton, Mississippi

ROBERT MCNAIR

Date of Death: November 6, 1964
Location: Pelahatchie, Mississippi

CLINTON MELTON

Date of Death: December 3, 1955
Location: Tallahatchie, Mississippi

BOOKER MIXON

Date of Death: October 12, 1959
Location: Clarksdale, Mississippi

NEIMIAH MONTGOMERY

Date of Death: August 10, 1964
Location: Cleveland, Mississippi

SAMUEL O'QUINN
Date of Death: August 14, 1959
Location: Centreville, Mississippi

HERBERT ORSBY

Date of Death: September 7, 1964
Location: Canton, Mississippi

MACK PARKER

Date of Death: April 25, 1959; Body discovered May 4, 1959
Location: Poplarville, Pearl River County, Mississippi

WILLIAM PRATHER

Date of Death: November 1, 1959
Location: Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi

JOHNNY QUEEN

Date of Death: August 8, 1965
Location: Fayette, Mississippi

DONALD RASPBERRY

Date of Death: February, 1965
Location: Okolona, Mississippi

JESSIE SHELBY

Date of Death: January 29, 1956
Location: Yazoo City, Mississippi

OLLIE SHELBY

Date of Death: January 22, 1965
Location: Hinds County Jail, Jackson, Mississippi

ED SMITH

Date of Death: April 27, 1958
Location: State Line, Mississippi

LAMAR SMITH

Date of Death: August 13, 1955
Location: Brookhaven, Mississippi

EDDIE STEWART

Date of Death: July 9, 1966
Location: Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi or Crystal Springs, Copiah County, Mississippi

ISAIAH TAYLOR

Date of Death: June 26, 1964
Location: Ruleville, Mississippi

FREDDIE THOMAS

Date of Death: August 16, 1965; Body discovered August 19, 1965
Location: Batesville, Mississippi

SALEAM TRIGGS

Date of Death: January 23, 1965
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi

CLIFTON WALKER

Date of Death: February 28, 1964
Location: Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi or Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi

The FBI, in close cooperation with the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Mississippi State Attorney General’s Office, as well as our law enforcement and community partners, is seeking any new information from the public about the death of these individuals.In some cases, a small, previously overlooked bit of information may prove to be crucial in finally solving a crime. Secrets long held by individuals, once revealed, may also lead to the identification of individuals responsible for these possible murders.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III has stated, “Although we cannot turn back the clock nor right these wrongs, we will continue to work closely with our partners to bring a measure of justice to the victims’ families and friends who never lost hope. Protecting the civil rights of all Americans is one of the FBI’s highest missions, whether the violations occurred four days ago or forty years ago.”

If you have any knowledge of the events surrounding the death of any individual listed above, please call the FBI's Jackson Office at 601-948-5000. Frederick T. Brink, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, stated, “We will explore every lead and every tip provided to us in our effort to bring closure to these cases. The FBI, together with our federal, state and local partners, will work diligently in these cases to uncover the truth, should it be hidden, and to bring to justice anyone who so heinously violates the rights of our citizens.”