Willie Earle
Willie Earle, a Black man in his early twenties, was held in the Pickens County jail in South Carolina in February 1947. A mob took him from that jail and stabbed and shot him to death in Greenville County on February 17, 1947. William B. Gravely's account describes the mob as cab drivers and says state and local officials denounced the killing, though many white residents supported the men involved. Thirty-one men tried for the killing were acquitted. His mother, Tessie Earle, sued Greenville and Pickens Counties for damages with NAACP lawyers; a lower court found Greenville County liable and dismissed the claim against Pickens County, and the case went to the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Willie Earle from the Pickens County jail and beat and shot him, according to Gravely's book, Tuskegee Institute records, 1947 newspaper accounts and his mother's NAACP-backed lawsuit.
Reported by: William B. Gravely, author of the book reviewed; Tuskegee Institute Department of Records and Research; 1947 newspaper accounts (reporters); Mrs. Tessie Earle and NAACP lawyers (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother, Tessie Earle, sued Greenville County with NAACP lawyers, and a lower court ruled the county liable for damages, but no amount is reported and the South Carolina Supreme Court was asked to uphold that ruling.