Killing of Hollis Riles in Georgia in 1949

Incident

Case summary

Hollis Riles, 51, a prosperous farm owner, was killed in 1949 by white men who trespassed on his pond in Decatur County, Georgia. Riles told a group of white men, who were fishing in his pond, to either get off or pay for the privilege of fishing. The men shot at Riles. County Sheriff A. E. White reported that before the killing, a group of unidentified individuals fired shots at Riles’ home after he had attempted to keep several white men from fishing in his pond. An essay on this case, researched and authored by a CRRJ student, is available on request.

Victim(s):

Hollis Riles


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

D. L. Birdsong

Howard Fewell

W. W. Godwin

Jessie Gordon

Crawford Harrell

Clarence Harrell

Jimmie T. Harrison

Zack Hurley

Coy Miller

Perpetrator group type: [ ]

Date of incident: 1949-09-02
Location: Climax, Decatur County, Georgia
Location type: victim's workplace
Allegation against victim: not permitting white men to fish on his property

Coroner process
Coroner/inquest: yes
Finding of no legal responsibility: yes

Criminal process
Arrest: [ ]
Charge/indictment/information: [ ]
Grand jury: [ ]
Trial: [ ]
Conviction: [ ]
Sentence: [ ]

FBI case ID:

Atlanta 44-303

DOJ case ID:

144-19M-65


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
death certificates
federal agency records
news articles - closed
Data Fields
To learn more about data fields, refer to the data dictionary.
Cite this Page
Refer to how to cite.