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William E. Harbour

Released
Date of birth:09. 01. 1942
Date of death:27. 08. 2020
Age:78† Deceased
Gender:Male
Era:1960s
State:Mississippi
Support
Civil Rights
William E. Harbour

Biography

William E. Harbour was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, on May 28, 1961, for participating in the Freedom Rides and challenging segregation in interstate transportation — one of the arrests recorded by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and preserved in the Civil Rights Digital Library. The catalog establishes the arrest, the participation, and the individually identified police photograph, but not the court disposition, any transfer to Parchman, or the physical release date; those fields are unresolved pending county-jail, court, or penitentiary records.

The jointly filed petition individually lists this rider and explicitly states that all petitioners entered pleas of not guilty for their Hinds County Court trials de novo. The previously blank plea field records that county-trial plea only; it does not change the later disposition or establish physical custody dates.

Thomas v. Mississippi certiorari petition, individually named cohort and county-trial pleas, PDF pages 1, 8, 14 and 33.

Case

Charges: Breach of the peace under Mississippi Code section 2087.5 (Freedom Ride terminal desegregation prosecution)
Arrested: May 28, 1961
Incarcerated: May 28, 1961
Sentence: Suspended 60-day sentence and a $200 fine; four months and a $200 fine on retrial. Conviction reversed.
Convicted: Yes
Plead: Not Guilty