James Bonard Fowler | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1933 Geneva County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 2015 (aged 81) Geneva County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | U.S Navy petty officer, Alabama state trooper, U.S. Army soldier, heroin trafficker, farmer |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction(s) | Thailand Drug trafficking Alabama Second degree manslaughter |
| Criminal penalty | Thailand 5 years imprisonment Alabama 6 months imprisonment |
James Bonard Fowler (September 10, 1933 – July 5, 2015) was a convicted drug trafficker and an Alabama state trooper, known for fatally shooting civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson on February 18, 1965, during a peaceful march by protesters seeking voting rights. Fowler was among police and state troopers who attacked unarmed marchers that night in Marion, Alabama. A grand jury declined to indict him that year. It was not until 2005 that Fowler acknowledged shooting Jackson, a young deacon in the Baptist church, claiming to have acted in self defense. In response to Jackson's death, several days later civil rights leaders initiated the Selma to Montgomery marches as part of their campaign for voting rights. That year Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which President Lyndon B. Johnson signed.[1]
After the shooting, Fowler was reassigned to Birmingham. In 1968 he was dismissed from the state troopers after physically attacking his supervisor. He enlisted in the US Army, serving with valor in Vietnam. He was awarded two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart. After the war, he became a heroin trafficker in northern Thailand, returning to the US for brief visits. During his time in Thailand, he was convicted of heroin trafficking and served five years in a Thai prison. After returning to the US permanently in 1996, Fowler farmed with his wife in rural Geneva County, Alabama.
In 2005, Fowler admitted to shooting Jackson in an interview with a local newspaper, saying that he had acted in self-defense. In 2007 he was indicted by the district attorney in Perry County for Jackson's death, and in 2010 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was sentenced to six months in prison but was released one month early for a surgical procedure.[2][1]
Beginning in 2007, Fowler was also being investigated by the FBI for the 1966 shooting death of Nathan Johnson, a black man fatally shot after being taken to the Alabaster jail. In May 1966 he had arrested Mr. Johnson on suspicion of drunk driving. He claimed Mr. Johnson attacked him with a baton once inside the jail. Regardless, Fowler killed him.[3]
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