The Case of Carnell Russ

On Memorial Day, May 31, 1971, Carnell Russ was driving back home to Monticello from his in-laws in Benton with his wife and children. Just north of Star City he was pulled over in a routine traffic violation. Taken to jail to post a $23 bond, he was shot dead in a dispute with a white city policeman. The policeman was indicted on manslaughter rather than murder charges, and subsequently acquitted by an all-white jury in less than eight minutes. The family launched a wrongful death lawsuit. The policeman was again acquitted. The federal Appeals Court ordered a new trial. Finally, eight years after the event, a jury made a cash award to the family. By that time, the white policeman had absconded from the state. In any case, he showed little prospect of paying out. I’m John Kirk, of the UALR History Department, and this has been an Arkansas Moment.