Killing of John Wesley Edwards in Alabama in 1949

Incident

Case summary

John Wesley Edwards, 21, was killed in 1949 by police officer Melvin Little in Birmingham, Alabama. Police officers said they were arresting Edwards in connection with the fatal shooting of Eddie Williams, a Black man, at a dance hall. Officer Little shot John Evans in the neck and chest, killing him. A coroner returned a finding of justifiable homicide.

Victim(s):

John Wesley Edwards


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

O. A. Bates

Melvin Little

Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1949-11-11
Location: Brighton, Jefferson County, Alabama
Location type: private space - commercial
Allegation against victim: resisting arrest; murdering a black man

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

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


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