Joe Charles Crittenden
Joe Crittenden, a 16-year-old Black boy, was held at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School near Wrightsville in Pulaski County. On March 5, 1959, a fire swept through his dormitory, and he was one of 21 boys who died. Accounts say the doors were locked from the outside and no adult was on duty, and a 2019 monument at the Wrightsville unit lists his name. Officials attributed the deaths to the fire, but the cause of the fire was never established, and the boys had no way out except the window screens.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). A dormitory fire killed 21 boys at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School; accounts say the doors were padlocked from outside and no adult was on duty, and the exact cause of the fire was never established.
Reported by: Arkansas Department of Correction (the agency that held him); news reports.