Date | January 22, 1976 |
---|---|
Location | Dawson Terrell County, Georgia |
Also known as | Dawson 5, The Dawson Five |
Deaths | Gordon B. Howell Jr. |
Suspects | 5 |
Accused |
|
Charges | Murder |
Verdict | Charges dropped (did not go to trial) |
The Dawson Five were defendants in a criminal court case in Dawson, Georgia, where they were charged with the murder of a white customer in a roadside convenience store. The five young black men, one of whom was a juvenile, became known as "The Dawson Five": Roosevelt Watson, Henderson Watson, J. D. Davenport, Johnnie B. Jackson, and George Poor.[1]
On January 22, 1976, Gordon B. Howell Jr. was shot during a robbery of Tiny's Grocery, located at Bridges Crossroads near Dawson.[2] On December 19, 1977, after over a year of imprisonment, time in the national spotlight, and contentious pretrial hearings; District Attorney John Irwin announced that he was dropping all charges against the five defendants, after a ruling by the presiding Judge Geer that voided Roosevelt Watson's forced confession.[1] The court dropped the charges after finding evidence of police misconduct, including coerced confessions, intimidation, and improper identification procedures.[1]