Killing of John Jackson in Alabama in 1941

Incident

Case summary

John Jackson (1908 - 1941), a mill worker, was killed by police officers in Fairfield, Alabama. One officer charged Jackson with disorderly conduct, reportedly because Jackson laughed as he stood in line to get into a movie theater. The officer mistakenly thought Johnson was laughing at him. Jackson was arrested, placed in the police car, and then beaten and shot. The officers involved were Hubert Alexander, Ed Taylor, and W.R. Gunby. Alexander was found guilty of conduct unbecoming a police officer and dismissed from the Fairfield police department. Taylor resigned from his police position shortly after the shooting. A grand jury declined to indict any of the three officers.

Victim(s):

John Jackson


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

Hubert Alexander

W. R. Grunby

Ed Taylor

Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1941-04-26
Location: Fairfield, Jefferson County, Alabama
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: laughing; offending a police officer; attacking a police officer

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

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


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
census records - closed
death certificates
military documents - closed
news articles - closed
scholarly works
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