Killing of Henry Buddy Freeman and Dave Hart in Louisiana in 1935

Incident

Case summary

Dave Hart, age 22, was shot and killed in 1935 by deputy sheriffs in a jail in Gretna, Louisiana. Hart and a man named Henry Freeman were being held for alleged attacks on white women. According to newspapers, the jailers claimed that Hart and Freeman had wounded Sheriff Frank Clancy and Deputy John Stewart with a smuggled gun. Newspaper accounts and the NAACP disputed the presence of a gun. Henry Buddy Freeman, 24, died in 1935, after being shot by deputy sheriffs in a jail in Gretna, Louisiana. Freeman and a man named Dave Hart had been arrested for rape, assault, and robbery. The jailers claimed that Freeman and Hart had wounded Sheriff Frank Clancy and Deputy John Stewart with a smuggled gun. Newspaper accounts and the NAACP disputed the presence of the gun.

Victim(s):

Henry Buddy Freeman

Dave Hart


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

Frank Clancy

Frank Hall

Angelo Maggiore

John Stewart

Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1935-11-01
Location: Gretna, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: raping a white woman; robbery; shooting at a police officer

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

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


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
death certificates
death certificates - closed
news articles - closed
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