April 9, 1962

Cpl. Roman Ducksworth is listed on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Ala. Credit: Courtesy of Southern Poverty Law Center

Cpl. Roman Ducksworth Jr., a 27-year-old Black military police officer stationed at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, was traveling home by bus to Mississippi. His wife, Melva, was expecting their sixth child and was now in the hospital because of complications. 

By the time he arrived home in Taylorsville, Mississippi, he had fallen asleep. The driver called William Kelly, a white police officer onto the bus to wake him. Kelly instead arrested the serviceman, claiming he was drunk. 

Off the bus, the two struggled, and the officer shot twice, striking Ducksworth in the chest. He died without knowing his wife had just given birth to a healthy baby girl. Kelly claimed he shot Ducksworth in self-defense, and he was never prosecuted. 

Later he sent a message to Ducksworth’s father: “If I’d known it was your son I wouldn’t have shot him.” The father replied, “I don’t care whose son it was, you had no business shooting him.” 

More than 2,000 attended the funeral for Ducksworth, who was buried with full military honors, including a 16-gun salute by an integrated honor guard. He is among 40 martyrs listed on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.