Gilbert S. Avery III

Released
Full name:Gilbert S. Avery
Date of birth:1931
Gender:Male
Era:1960s
State:Mississippi
Time Imprisoned:
6 Days
Support
Civil Rights
Gilbert S. Avery III

Biography

Gilbert S. Avery III was one of the fifteen Episcopal clergymen arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, on September 13, 1961, after the group entered the Trailways terminal coffee shop as an interracial party and declined police orders to leave.

The fifteen clergymen were tried in Jackson Municipal Court on September 15, convicted of disorderly conduct, fined $200 apiece, and sentenced to four months in jail; the prosecutions were dismissed on May 21, 1962, and the episode later reached the United States Supreme Court as the civil damages action Pierson v. Ray. How long each priest physically remained jailed after sentencing is not established; the release date is unresolved pending jail records.

Case

Charges: Episcopal-clergy Freedom Ride — entered the Trailways terminal coffee shop, declined orders to leave, jailed under the Mississippi breach-of-peace statute, September 13, 1961; directed verdict for the defendant April 9, 1962 (Pierson v. Ray group).
Arrested: Sep 13, 1961
Sentenced: Sep 15, 1961
Incarcerated: Sep 13, 1961
Released: Sep 19, 1961
Sentence: Four months in jail and a $200 fine, imposed by the Jackson Municipal Court on September 15, 1961. A directed verdict for the defendant was entered on April 9, 1962; the episode later reached the Supreme Court as Pierson v. Ray. Released on appeal bond September 19, 1961.
Convicted: Yes

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