Killing of Rayfield D. Davis in Alabama in 1948

Incident

Case summary

Rayfield D. Davis (1903 – 1948), a civilian employee at the Brookley Air Force Base, was killed by Horace H. Miller in Mobile, Alabama. Miller, a mechanic who also worked at the base, beat Davis to death in a dispute over racial equality. The two men were riding a bus in Mobile when the quarrel occurred. Miller appeared in state court in connection with the incident, but was never tried. An essay on this case, researched and authored by a CRRJ student, is available on request.

Victim(s):

Rayfield D. Davis


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

Horace M. Miller

Perpetrator group type: [ ]

Date of incident: 1948-03-07
Location: Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama
Location type: public space - urban
Allegation against victim: arguing over Truman's civil rights program

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

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

DOJ case ID:

144-3-25


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