United States, Georgia, Toombs County, Lyons, 32.20435, -82.321792014-09-10Encyclopedia article about the murder of Robert Mallard and the arrest of his wife. On November 20, 1948, a mob of twenty armed white men shot and killed African American Robert Mallard in front of his family in Lyons, the seat of Toombs County. The killing initially garnered little attention, but due in part to the outspokenness of Mallard's wife, the case soon became national news, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) entered the case. Despite no evidence linking her to the crime, Amy Mallard was arrested by local officials for her husband's murder. Eventually, two men—William Howell and Roderick Clifton—were indicted for the murder, but Howell was acquitted, and the charge against Clifton was dropped. After the acquittal, Amy Mallard toured the country on behalf of the NAACP, exposing the terror of mob violence in Georgia. The Mallard case revealed much about the practices of local and federal law-enforcement institutions, civil rights organizations, and the pre–civil rights era.GSE identifier: SS8H10engForms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Forms part of the New Georgia EncyclopediaAfrican Americans--Crimes against--Georgia--LyonsLynching--Georgia--LyonsNational Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleCivil right movements--GeorgiaGeorgia--Race relationsThe Mallard Murder CaseText