Jim Leslie (Louisiana)

James S. "Jim" Leslie
The Shreveport Times photo of Jim Leslie in the Louisiana State University in Shreveport Archive
Born	(1937-10-27)October 27, 1937 Place of birth missing
Died	July 9, 1976(1976-07-09) (aged 38) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Cause of death	Unsolved assassination
Resting place	Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport, Louisiana
Residence	Shreveport, Louisiana
Alma mater	Missing
Occupation	Journalist for The Shreveport Times Public relations advertising executive
Spouse(s)	Married
Children	Scott and Mickey Leslie

Journalist for The Shreveport Times

James S. Leslie (October 27, 1937 – July 9, 1976), known as Jim Leslie, was a journalist for The Shreveport Times who became a public relations and advertising executive in Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana. His shotgun assassination in the capital city of Baton Rouge led quickly to the collapse of the controversial administration of Shreveport Public Safety Commissioner George W. D'Artois.

In 1974, D'Artois hired Leslie to conduct public relations for D'Artois's successful campaign for reelection as the citywide commissioner of public safety, a post to which the Democrat had first been elected in 1962 and encompassed authority over both the police and fire departments. D'Artois twice paid Leslie for his services, the second time under threat, through a Shreveport municipal account; Leslie spurned the checks and asked for proper payment from the campaign fund instead. Leslie also testified before a grand jury investigating corruption in the Shreveport Department of Public Safety.

D'Artois was not Leslie's first client. He had worked successfully in 1972 to elect Democrat J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., of Shreveport to the United States Senate as the long-range successor to the late Allen J. Ellender and in 1975 to make J. Kelly Nix the new Louisiana state superintendent of education through the defeat of incumbent Louis J. Michot.

In the summer of 1976, Leslie was involved with the forces led by Edward J. Steimel of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry which passed a right-to-work law through the Louisiana State Legislature in line with Section 14b of the Taft-Hartley Act, which permits states to outlaw closed shops that require employees of companies to join or pay dues to a labor union. As Leslie came to the Prince Murat Inn at the state capital for a celebration of the legislative breakthrough, he parked in an available distant spot, got out of his car, and walked to the hotel. Author Brad Kozak recounts the horror Leslie quickly faced: "the assailant raised a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with double-ought and fired from about 20 feet behind Leslie. All 16 pellets from the shell penetrated his body, ripping through his heart and lungs with the force of .32 caliber bullets. He died instantly."