Killing of James Dallberry, Henry Hart, Jesse Williams, and Roosevelt Wilson in North Carolina in 1946
Incident
Rosevelt Wilson, 35, a farmhand, died in 1946 in Scotland Neck Municipal jail, Halifax County, North Carolina. Wilson and three other Black men, Jesse Williams, 22, William Henry Hart, 30, and James Dolberry, 20, jailed on charges of intoxication, died in their cells from smoke from burning mattresses. It was suspected that the fire was caused by a lit cigarette. Jesse Williams (1924 - 1946), a farmer and veteran, died in Scotland Neck Municipal jail in Halifax County, North Carolina. Williams and three other Black men, Rosevelt Wilson, 40, William Henry Hart, 30, and James Dolberry, 20, jailed on charges of intoxication, died in their cells from smokes from burning mattresses. It was reported that the fire was caused by a lit cigarette. Henry Hart (1905-1946), a farmer, died in jail in Scotland Neck, Halifax County, North Carolina. Hart and three other Black men—Roosevelt Wilson, 35, James Dallberry, 20, and Jesse Williams, 22—died in their jail cells by suffocation from a burning mattress. Coroner called it an accident caused by a match or cigarette of one of the men. Hart’s sister Lillian Hudson and Dallberry’s sister Evelena Debrew sought an investigation from the NAACP. James Dallberry (1926-1946), a farmer, died in jail in Scotland Neck, Halifax County, North Carolina. Dallberry and three other Black men—Roosevelt Wilson, 35, William Henry Hart, 30, and Jesse Williams, 22—died in their jail cells by suffocation from a burning mattress. Coroner called it an accident caused by a match or cigarette of one of the men. Hart’s sister Lillian Hudson and Dallberry’s sister Evelena Debrew sought an investigation from the N
advocacy group resources
To learn more about data fields, refer to the data dictionary.
Refer to how to cite.
