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Murder of James Craig Anderson

SOLVED2011Metro Inn parking lot, Jackson, Mississippi3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

James Craig Anderson was a 47-year-old man who worked on the assembly line at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, and lived in Jackson, where he was raising an adopted son with his partner of seventeen years, James Bradfield. He was born on June 30, 1963, in Holmes County, Mississippi, and was known in his community for singing tenor in church.

In the early morning of June 26, 2011, a group of young white men and women who had been drinking in Puckett, Rankin County, drove to a predominantly Black area of Jackson, reportedly intending to attack Black residents. According to prosecutors, members of the group spotted Anderson near his own truck in the parking lot of the Metro Inn and mistakenly believed he was trying to steal a vehicle. Witnesses said Dedmon and others beat and robbed Anderson, with one witness reporting a perpetrator shouted "white power" afterward. A motel security camera did not capture the beating itself but recorded Dedmon driving his pickup truck over Anderson as he staggered along the parking lot, causing fatal injuries. Anderson died a few days later. Dedmon subsequently boasted to accomplices about the killing using a racial slur.

Dedmon was arrested by the Hinds County Sheriff on July 6, 2011, and charged with capital murder. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith characterized the killing as a racially motivated hate crime. The FBI opened a civil rights investigation that uncovered a broader pattern of attacks against African Americans in Jackson dating from spring 2011 through March 2012, including assaults with thrown bottles, a slingshot, and attempts to run down victims with vehicles. Ten individuals were ultimately indicted for hate-crime conspiracy offenses connected to this pattern.

On March 21, 2012, Dedmon pleaded guilty to murder and a federal hate crime charge and was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in Mississippi state court. The following day, Dedmon, John Aaron Rice, and Dylan Butler pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges. In December 2012, additional defendants, including William Kirk Montgomery and Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp, also pleaded guilty. On February 10, 2015, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves sentenced Dedmon to 50 years, Rice to 18.5 years, and Butler to 7 years in federal prison, with sentences running concurrently to state terms and no parole eligibility. All ten individuals charged in the broader conspiracy eventually pleaded guilty.

Anderson's family, citing their Christian faith and concerns about the historic racial disparities in Mississippi's use of capital punishment, asked prosecutors to spare the defendants the death penalty. With assistance from the Southern Poverty Law Center, family members filed a wrongful-death civil suit against several of those involved. The case drew national attention after release of the motel security video, prompting a public march in Jackson and broader scrutiny of racially motivated violence in the region. Anderson's family later established the James Craig Anderson Foundation for Racial Tolerance in his memory.

Key facts

Victims
James Craig Anderson
Date
2011
Location
Metro Inn parking lot, Jackson, Mississippi
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1963-06-30

    James Craig Anderson is born in Holmes County, Mississippi.

  2. 2011-06-26

    Anderson is beaten, robbed, and run over by Deryl Dedmon's truck in a Jackson, Mississippi motel parking lot; he dies of his injuries a few days later.

  3. 2011-07-06

    Deryl Dedmon is arrested by the Hinds County Sheriff and charged with capital murder.

  4. 2011-08-14

    About 500 people march in Jackson from a church to the motel to denounce the killing as a racially motivated hate crime.

  5. 2011-08-17

    FBI spokeswoman confirms the bureau's investigation into whether federal civil rights crimes occurred.

  6. 2011-09

    Anderson's family, with help from the Southern Poverty Law Center, files a wrongful-death lawsuit against seven individuals involved in the attack.

  7. 2011-09-20

    A grand jury indicts Dedmon on capital murder and hate crime charges.

  8. 2011-09-30

    Dedmon pleads not guilty at a preliminary hearing.

  9. 2012-03-21

    Dedmon pleads guilty to murder and a federal hate crime charge; sentenced to two concurrent life terms in state court.

  10. 2012-03-22

    Dedmon, John Aaron Rice, and Dylan Butler plead guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges.

  11. 2012-12-04

    Jonathan Gaskamp, Joseph Dominick, and William Montgomery plead guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges.

  12. 2014-07

    Four more defendants — John Louis Blalack, Sarah Adelia Graves, Robert Henry Rice, and Shelbie Brooke Richards — are indicted on eight counts.

  13. 2015-02-10

    U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves sentences Dedmon to 50 years, Rice to 18.5 years, and Butler to 7 years in federal prison.

Best coverage

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People

  • Joseph Dominick

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges on December 4, 2012.

  • James Craig Anderson

    VICTIM

    47-year-old Nissan plant assembly-line worker beaten and fatally run over in a racially motivated attack on June 26, 2011.

  • Robert Shuler Smith

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Hinds County District Attorney who characterized the killing as a racially motivated hate crime and pursued charges.

  • Sarah Adelia Graves

    CHARGED

    Indicted on eight counts in July 2014 in connection with the hate crime conspiracy; later pleaded guilty.

  • Carlton Reeves

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi who sentenced Dedmon, Rice, and Butler on federal hate crime charges.

  • John Aaron Rice

    CONVICTED

    Initially charged with simple assault; later pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 18.5 years.

  • Dylan Butler

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges; sentenced to 7 years.

  • Robert Henry Rice

    CHARGED

    Indicted on eight counts in July 2014 in connection with the hate crime conspiracy; later pleaded guilty.

  • William Kirk Montgomery

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal hate crimes for his role in the attack.

  • Deryl Dedmon

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to murder and a federal hate crime charge; sentenced to two concurrent life terms in state court and 50 years federally.

  • Shelbie Brooke Richards

    CHARGED

    Indicted on eight counts in July 2014 in connection with the hate crime conspiracy; later pleaded guilty.

  • John Louis Blalack

    CHARGED

    Indicted on eight counts in July 2014 in connection with the hate crime conspiracy; later pleaded guilty.

  • Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp

    CONVICTED

    Also known as Jonathan Kyle Holton; pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal hate crimes.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Metro Inn parking lot, Jackson, Mississippi

32.2988, -90.1848

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
James Craig Anderson, a 47-year-old Black man, was beaten and then fatally run over by 18-year-old Deryl Dedmon in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 26, 2011, in what was prosecuted as a racially motivated hate crime. The attack, part of a wider FBI-investigated conspiracy involving ten defendants, led to state and federal convictions.
Where did the murder happen?
Metro Inn parking lot, Jackson, Mississippi.
Who was convicted?
Joseph Dominick (Pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges on December 4, 2012.), John Aaron Rice (Initially charged with simple assault; later pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 18.5 years.), Dylan Butler (Pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges; sentenced to 7 years.), William Kirk Montgomery (Pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal hate crimes for his role in the attack.), Deryl Dedmon (Pleaded guilty to murder and a federal hate crime charge; sentenced to two concurrent life terms in state court and 50 years federally.), and Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp (Also known as Jonathan Kyle Holton; pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal hate crimes.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Mississippi

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of James Craig AndersonWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-05
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — CNNCNN · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 05, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 05, 2026