Cold cases
Below are capsule summaries of cases that have been authorized for release by the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. Clicking on a case will bring you to a more extensive synopsis of that incident, as well as to a link that will take you to the National Archives’ Civil Rights Cold Case Records Portal, where the case file may be viewed.
The Board takes into account many factors in determining which cases it wants to examine for potential release. Given its statutory time constraints, the Board is focused on prioritizing cases that are representative of the diverse nature of civil rights cold cases. Currently, the Board is required to terminate its work no later than January, 2027.
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Esau Copeland was a 38-year-old farmer from Harris County, Georgia. Copeland lived in Shiloh with his wife, Mattie Estell, and stepson, James.
Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old resident of Chicago, Illinois. He was raised by his mother, Mamie Till Bradley.
George Miller was a 35-year-old World War II veteran and Louisiana native who was living in Chicot County, Arkansas.
Timothy Hood was a 23-year-old native of Bessemer, Alabama. He was a Marine veteran of World War II.
George Powell Jr. was born in Cullman, Alabama in 1925. At the time of the incident, he was 29 and incarcerated at Buford Rock Quarry Prison Camp in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where he was serving a 2- to 10-year sentence for robbery.