James Bonard Fowler
| James Bonard Fowler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 10, 1933 Geneva County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 2015 (aged 81) Geneva County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Occupation | Alabama state trooper |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Conviction(s) | Manslaughter |
James Bonard Fowler (September 10, 1933 – July 5, 2015) was an American policeman who was a significant player in escalating the acute racial conflict that led to the Selma to Montgomery marches in the Civil Rights Movement. As a corporal in the Alabama State Police in 1965, he shot and killed an unarmed black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, a killing that went without justice for 45 years. He was convicted of manslaughter decades after the incident.
He was also under investigation by the FBI for the 1966 shooting death of a second black man, Nathan Johnson, shot one year after Jackson.
On the night of February 18, 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.) and the police began to beat the protestors. 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.
26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother, Viola Jackson and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee and others ran into 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 February 26, 1965.
Fowler claims that he acted in self-defense after Jackson grabbed his gun from its holster.
This incident provided the primary catalyst for the first Selma to Montgomery march that occurred a few days later on "Bloody Sunday", March 7, 1965.
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