Willie Lee Williams
Willie Lee Williams was a boy held at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Pulaski County, when a fire broke out in his dormitory on March 5, 1959. He was one of 21 boys who died in the blaze. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that the doors were locked from the outside, and that the boys were locked in the dormitory when the fire started. Officials have given the fire as the cause of the deaths, and the Arkansas Department of Correction dedicated a memorial with each of the boys' names in 2019. Willie Lee Williams was one of seven victims who were identified and buried separately.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). The dormitory fire at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School killed 21 boys who were reportedly locked inside, according to official and news accounts.
Reported by: Arkansas Department of Correction (the agency that held him); news reporting on the 1959 fire (reporters).