Killing of Mack Leslie in Louisiana in 1933

Incident

Case summary

Mack Lesley (1885-1933), a farmer, was killed by Deputy O. McElroy and Deputy Raymond Meeks in Farmville, Louisiana. Lesley was accused of being the secretary of a secret organization that was planning an uprising of Black citizens. Sheriff Pat Murphy claimed that he wanted to prevent Lesley’s lynching, so he sent deputies McElroy and Meeks to arrest him, and when Lesley resisted and appeared to reach for a weapon, the deputies shot him.

Victim(s):

Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:
Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1933-11-14
Location: Cherry Ridge (historical), Union Parish, Louisiana
Location type: victim's home
Allegation against victim: appearing to reach for a weapon; planning a march on Farmerville to demand more rights

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

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


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