Killing of Howard Wash in Mississippi in 1942

Incident

Case summary

Howard Wash, 49, an overseer of livestock on a farm, was killed by a group of men in 1942 in Jones County, Mississippi. Wash had been convicted of striking his white employer. He received a life sentence in this capital case, angering local residents, some of whom broke into the Jones County jail, seized Wash and lynched him. The sheriff identified Barney Jones and Allen Pryor as two members of the group and Luther Holder, deputy jailer, as the person who was in possession of the keys to the jail. A federal prosecution of the perpetrators was unsuccessful. An essay on this case, researched and authored by a CRRJ student, is available on request.

Victim(s):

Howard Wash


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

[given name unknown] Ford

Luther Holder

William Oscar Johnson

Barney Jones

Frankie Powell

Allen Pryor

Allen Welborn Pryor

J. Press Reddoch

Nathaniel Shotts

Hillard H. Welborn

Perpetrator group type: police, mob

Date of incident: 1942-10-17
Location: Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi
Location type: public space - rural
Allegation against victim: committing murder

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

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

FBI case ID:

Jackson 44-11

Atlanta 44-43

San Antonio 44-12

DOJ case ID:

125-017-41

144-41-8


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
death certificates
federal agency records
news articles - closed
scholarly works
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