Marvin Williams
Marvin Williams, a Black man in his early twenties, died on May 6, 1960, while held at the Faulkner County jail in Arkansas. A coroner's jury said he fell and struck his head on the courthouse steps, but the jury did not see an autopsy that reported a brain hemorrhage from a skull fracture, or a blood test that found no alcohol in his blood. A news report said he was assaulted by staff. Two former officers were later charged with murder after a man who had been held at the jail wrote to officials, and they were acquitted in 1985.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). A coroner's jury said he fell and struck his head on the courthouse steps, but a former inmate wrote to officials that officers beat him, and an autopsy later found a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage that the jury never saw.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); former inmate's letter to officials (witnesses); news report.