Roman Ducksworth Jr.

Corporal Roman Ducksworth Jr., a 27-year-old U.S. Army military police officer, was traveling home on emergency leave to see his wife, who was hospitalized with pregnancy complications, when he was removed from a bus by Taylorsville, Mississippi police officer William Kelly on April 9, 1962. Kelly shot Ducksworth twice, fatally wounding him. Kelly was never charged; he claimed self-defense. The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed the case under the Emmett Till Act and formally closed the file in 2010 without prosecution, since Kelly had since died.

Taylorsville, MS · Smith County

• 1962: 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, age, and the April 9, 1962 date and circumstances, per the DOJ's public case file.
• Officer William Kelly's identity and role are part of the official record; he was never charged.

• Conflicting witness accounts exist about how the confrontation began.
• The DOJ noted it could not locate the original 1962 investigative file when it reviewed the case in the 2000s.

• U.S. Department of Justice — Civil Rights Division case page
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs