James Earl Motley

James Earl Motley, 27, died from head injuries in the Elmore County jail around 3:30 a.m. on November 20, 1966, hours after Deputy Harvey Conner stopped the car he was riding in for a traffic violation. When Motley told Conner he lacked jurisdiction because the stop had occurred in a different county, Conner ordered him out of the car; witnesses said Conner then struck Motley repeatedly in the head with a slapjack, and that state troopers who arrived as backup held Motley by the arms while he was beaten. Conner took the bleeding Motley to the county jail, where local authorities said he fell twice and struck his head before losing consciousness. An autopsy found multiple skull fractures and brain hemorrhage; a coroner concluded the fatal injury could have come from the beating, the falls, or some combination, and classified the death as “accidental.” A state grand jury declined to indict Conner on a homicide charge in January 1967. He was separately tried in federal court for violating Motley's civil rights; an all-white jury with one Black member returned a not-guilty verdict on April 12, 1967.

Wetumpka, AL · Elmore County

• 1966: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• Victim identity and the November 20, 1966 date and circumstances, per the DOJ's public case file and PBS FRONTLINE's “Un(re)solved” case summary.
• A state grand jury declined to indict Deputy Harvey Conner, and a subsequent federal jury acquitted him in April 1967; the coroner classified Motley's death as accidental, per the same sources.

• No one was ever held criminally accountable for Motley's death.
• Whether the fatal head injury resulted from the beating, the falls at the jail, or some combination was never conclusively determined.

• PBS FRONTLINE Un(re)solved — case summary
• U.S. Department of Justice — Notice to Close File
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs