Killing of O. D. Henderson in Alabama in 1940

Incident

Case summary

O. D. Henderson, 25, a steel worker, was, in 1940, beaten by police officers Nelson Thomas, W. G. Cook, W. C. Glenn and M. M. Hagood, a civilian, in a police station in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Alabama. Hagood assaulted Henderson because he claimed Henderson bumped him on a public street. Officers arrested Henderson and together with Hagood at the jail, they beat him with a blackjack, leather strap and rubber hose, and then shot him.A coroner returned a finding of unjustifiable homicide.

Victim(s):

O. D. Henderson


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

H. M. Hagood

Thomas Nelson

Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1940-05-08
Location: Fairfield, Jefferson County, Alabama
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: being involved in an altercation with a white man

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

Criminal process
Arrest: yes
Charge/indictment/information: yes
Grand jury: yes
Trial: yes
Conviction: no
Sentence: [ ]


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