James Bonard Fowler
James B. Fowler | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1933 |
| Police career | |
| Country | United States |
| Department | Alabama State Police |
| Service years | 1954 – 1980 |
| Rank | Sworn in as an officer - 1954 Corporal - 1965 |
| Other work | Charged with murder |
James Bonard Fowler (born 10 September 1933) became an icon in the conflict that led to the Selma to Montgomery marches in the American Civil Rights Movement as a corporal in the Alabama State Police after he shot and killed an unarmed black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson in 1965. He is also under investigation by the FBI for the 1966 shooting death of a second black man, Nathan Johnson, one year later.[1]
Shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson
On the night of 18 February 1965, around 500 people left Zion United Methodist Church in Marion, Alabama and attempted to peacefully walk to the City Jail about a half a block away where a young Civil Rights worker was being held. The march was to protest his arrest and sing hymns. They were met by a crowd of Marion City police officers, sheriff’s deputies and Alabama State Troopers. In the standoff, streetlights were abruptly turned off (some sources say that they were shot out by the police[2]) and the police began to beat the protestors.[2][3] Two United Press International photographers were beaten by the police and their cameras were smashed and NBC News correspondent Richard Valeriani was beaten so badly that he was hospitalized.[2]
26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother, Viola Jackson and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee and others ran in to Mack’s Café pursued by about 10 Alabama State Troopers. Police clubbed Cager Lee to the floor and his daughter, Viola rushed to his aid. Jimmie Jackson went to his mother's aid and was shot twice in the abdomen by Fowler. He died on 26 February 1965.[3]
Fowler claims that he acted in self-defense after Jackson grabbed his gun from its holster.[4]
Aftermath
This incident provided the primary catalyst for the first Selma to Montgomery march that occurred a few days later on “Bloody Sunday”, 7 March 1965.[3]
A grand jury declined to indict Fowler in September 1965, identifying him only by his surname (“Fowler”).[3]
Interviewed some time after the incident, Fowler stated:
I don’t remember how many times I pulled the trigger, but I think I just pulled it once, but I might have pulled it three times. I don’t remember. I didn’t know his name at the time, but his name was Jimmie Lee Jackson. He weren’t dead. He didn’t die that night. But I heard about a month later that he died.[3]
After the shooting, Fowler returned to his duties as a State Trooper. He was transferred to Birmingham, Alabama, and promoted. He states that he never got so much as a letter of reprimand.[3]
Indictment
On 10 May 2007, 42 years after the homicide, Fowler was charged with first degree and second degree murder for the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and surrendered to authorities.[4] Fowler's trial was set for the week of 20 October 2008,[5] but was postponed pending a ruling by Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on whether the District Attorney must supply the defense with a list of witnesses to appear at trial.[6]
As of 2010[update], the case "seems to have lost its bearings in Alabama's judicial system",[7] although District Attorney Michael Jackson stated in 2009 that he was hopeful the case would go to trial in the next year.[8]
Pleaded Guilty of Second-Degree Manslaughter of Jimmie Lee Jackson
James Bonard Fowler pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter. He had been charged with two counts of murder in the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson during a melee in a restaurant in Marion in 1965.
Circuit Judge Tommy Jones sentenced Fowler to six months in prison and six months of unsupervised probation. Jones agreed with a defense request that Fowler serve his sentence in Geneva County, close to his home.
| publisher = Anniston Star | date = 15 December 2010 | url = http://annistonstar.com/pages/special_jimmieleejackson/ | format = html
Shooting of Nathan Johnson
FBI officials announced that they are seeking information in the May 8, 1966 death of 34-year-old Nathan Johnson.[1] Johnson had been arrested for suspicion of drunken driving on US Highway 31 and was fatally shot by Fowler at the Alabaster, Alabama Police Department.[1] [9] At the time, press quoted authorities as saying Johnson had grabbed a billy club from Fowler and was attacking him when the officer shot Johnson twice in the chest.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Associated, Press (24 November 2009). "FBI: Ex-Alabama trooper Fowler's 1966 killing of black man in Alabaster jail still probed" (html). WHNT News 19. Retrieved 24 November 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b c Davis, Townsend (1998), Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 121, 122, ISBN 0393045927
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f Fleming, John (6 March 2005), "The Death of Jimmy Lee Jackson", Anniston Star, retrieved 2008-01-21
- ^ a b "Nation in Brief: Indictment Brought in Civil-Rights-Era Death", Washington Post, pp. A08, 10 May 2007, retrieved 2008-01-21
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^
Phillip, Rawls (October 7, 2008), Former Ala. trooper to face trial in 1965 shooting, Associated Press
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^
Phillip, Rawls (October 8, 2008), Trial in 1965 slaying delayed, Associated Press
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Fleming, John (January 3, 2010), "The Death of Jimmie Lee: Maine artist Jonathan Frost chronicles a pivotal moment in civil rights history", The Anniston Star, retrieved 2010-04-29
- ^ "Old Ala. civil rights slaying slow to get to trial", The San Francisco Examiner, September 5, 2009, retrieved 2010-04-29
- ^ a b Associated, Press (24 November 2009). "FBI says ex-trooper's 1966 killing of black probed" (html). Associated press. Retrieved 24 November 2009. [dead link]