Killing of James Ellis Scales in Tennessee in 1944

Incident

Case summary

James Ellis Scales, 16, was killed in 1944 by a group of men in Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Scales was accused of murdering the wife and daughter of the superintendent of the reformatory school where he was incarcerated. The group kidnapped him from jail and shot him. An essay on this case, researched and authored by a CRRJ student, is available on request.

Victim(s):

James Ellis Scales


Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:

John Barker

George Davis

Wallace Martin

Felix Morris

William E. Palmer

John E. Pledger

Louis Price

Hubert S. Simmons

Fred Usmiller

R. L. Wheeler

James O. Wilson

Perpetrator group type: police, mob

Date of incident: 1944-11-23
Location: Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: murdering two white women

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

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

FBI case ID:

Knoxville 44-27

DOJ case ID:

144-70-6


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