Henry D. “Dickie” Marrow, Jr.

Henry D. “Dickie” Marrow, Jr. was a 23-year-old Black man and Army veteran living in Oxford, North Carolina. On May 11, 1970, after Marrow allegedly said something that offended a white woman, three of the woman’s relatives shot Marrow from behind, severely beat him while he was on the ground, and then fatally shot him in the head. The men who participated in the assault that killed Marrow included: (1) the woman’s husband, XXXX; (2) XXXX Robert Gerald Teel (Robert) (deceased); and (3) Robert’s XXXX. At least two witnesses heard XXXX and Robert use racial slurs either during or shortly after their assault on Marrow.

Following Marrow’s death, the state charged two of the men, XXXX and Robert, with murder and aiding and abetting murder, respectively. State authorities also charged Robert with a felonious assault for firing his shotgun at XXXX, a bystander to Marrow’s death. XXXX and Robert were tried in state court in July 1970 on the murder and aiding and abetting counts. An all-white jury acquitted them. The acquittals followed a surprise declaration at trial by XXXX that, contrary to eyewitness testimony introduced at trial, he XXX, rather than XXXX, fired the fatal shot that killed Marrow. XXXX testified that he fired the fatal shot by accident after “someone,” whom XXXX never identified at trial, bumped his arm.