Charles Thomas
Charles L. Thomas was 15 years old and Black. He died on March 5, 1959, when fire swept the dormitory at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, where he was held; he was one of 21 boys who died. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that the doors were reportedly locked from the outside, and LEVEL reports that padlocks secured the dormitory and no adult supervisor was on duty. According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the boys had no way out except the window screens. LEVEL reports that the exact cause of the fire was never established, and in 2019 the Arkansas Department of Correction dedicated a monument at the Wrightsville unit that lists his name.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). The 1959 fire killed 21 boys held in the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School dormitory, which was reportedly locked from outside with no adult on duty, but the cause of the fire was never established.
Reported by: Arkansas Department of Correction (the agency that held him); news reports.