On August 13, 1955, Lamar Smith, a 63-year-old African American farmer and World War I veteran, was murdered in broad daylight on the courthouse lawn while encouraging African Americans to vote. He had been threatened for organizing Black voters and was killed in front of dozens of witnesses. An all-white grand jury failed to indict the three White men arrested for the murder after witnesses refused to testify. No one was ever prosecuted for his murder.