Luther Jackson

According to contemporaneous newspaper articles, on October 25, 1959, Luther Jackson, the African-American victim, a 27-year-old veteran of the Korean war, was shot and killed by Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) Officer Lawrence Rainey, the subject, during a traffic stop.  XXXXXXXX was with the victim at the time of the shooting and stated that, sometime between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m., XXXX and the victim were in a car parked on Pine Street in Philadelphia, Mississippi.  Rainey drove by in his patrol car and stopped.  Rainey ordered the victim and XXXXXX to exit their car.  Jackson exited first and Rainey pushed him out of sight of XXXXXX.  XXXXXX was also exiting the car when XXXXX heard a gunshot. XXXXXX started walking in the direction taken by Rainey and the victim and then heard a second shot. When XXXXX reached the started walking in the direction victim, he was lying dead in a ditch.  Shortly thereafter, Rainey went to his patrol car and called “City Hall.”  After a while, he called again, and XXXXX heard him say, “Come on down here, I think I have killed a nigger.”