James C. Brazier
James Calvin Brazier, 31, was a husband and father who worked two and sometimes three jobs, including at a Chevrolet dealership, and had served in the U.S. military during World War II. He attended church with his family the day before he died, and he had a special love for cars. He was held at the Terrell County Jail in Dawson, Georgia, where witnesses said officers beat him that night and again in the early morning, and that he was returned bloodied and barely able to speak. Sources say a jail physician examined him, and that a local doctor refused to treat him when his wife, Hattie Brazier, took him to the hospital, so he was taken to a hospital in Columbus, Georgia, where he died on April 25, 1958. Hattie Brazier has said his skull was fractured; officers said they were not especially rough with him, and a 1963 federal civil suit she brought ended with a verdict for the defendants.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). Witnesses say officers beat him at the Terrell County Jail, and his wife says a local doctor refused to treat him before he was taken to a hospital in Columbus, Georgia, while officers say they were not especially rough with him.
Reported by: witnesses held at the Terrell County Jail (witnesses); Hattie Brazier, his wife, and her 1963 federal civil suit (family or their lawyers); the officers involved.
Lawsuit: His wife, Hattie Brazier, filed a federal civil suit in 1963 that ended with a verdict for the defendants, so no payment was made.