Race Jones
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The Justice Department may again reopen its investigation into the 1955 killing of Emmett Till.
The revelation came a week after Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his support for pursuing and prosecuting killers who went unpunished in the civil rights era. “He said no one gets a pass,” said Till’s cousin, Deborah Watts, who along with activist Alvin Sykes met with Sessions.
Till’s killers were never convicted. The African-American teenager from Chicago, who was visiting family in Mississippi, was killed three days after he reportedly wolf-whistled at a white woman.
Justice officials are exploring the possibility of reopening the Till case because Carolyn Bryant Donham has admitted she lied when she testified that he touched her — a lie she repeated to the FBI a decade ago.
Donham admitted her lie to Timothy B. Tyson, author of the new book, “The Blood of Emmett Till.”
“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” Donham was quoted as saying.
“The Department is currently assessing whether the newly revealed statement could warrant additional investigation,” Acting Assistant Attorney General T.E. Wheeler II wrote U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in a letter.
Wheeler warned against raised expectations.
“We caution, however, that even with our best efforts, investigations into historic cases are exceptionally difficult, and there may be insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers to bringing federal charges against any remaining living persons,” he wrote.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said his office has interviewed a couple of people in the Till case, but shared no details.
The 14-year-old Till reportedly wolf-whistled at Donham, then married to Roy Bryant, on Aug. 24, 1955.
She reportedly didn’t tell her husband, who found out days later from a customer at the store.
On Aug. 28, 1955, Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from the home of his uncle, Mose Wright.
The revelation came a week after Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his support for pursuing and prosecuting killers who went unpunished in the civil rights era. “He said no one gets a pass,” said Till’s cousin, Deborah Watts, who along with activist Alvin Sykes met with Sessions.
Till’s killers were never convicted. The African-American teenager from Chicago, who was visiting family in Mississippi, was killed three days after he reportedly wolf-whistled at a white woman.
Justice officials are exploring the possibility of reopening the Till case because Carolyn Bryant Donham has admitted she lied when she testified that he touched her — a lie she repeated to the FBI a decade ago.
Donham admitted her lie to Timothy B. Tyson, author of the new book, “The Blood of Emmett Till.”
“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” Donham was quoted as saying.
“The Department is currently assessing whether the newly revealed statement could warrant additional investigation,” Acting Assistant Attorney General T.E. Wheeler II wrote U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in a letter.
Wheeler warned against raised expectations.
“We caution, however, that even with our best efforts, investigations into historic cases are exceptionally difficult, and there may be insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers to bringing federal charges against any remaining living persons,” he wrote.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said his office has interviewed a couple of people in the Till case, but shared no details.
The 14-year-old Till reportedly wolf-whistled at Donham, then married to Roy Bryant, on Aug. 24, 1955.
She reportedly didn’t tell her husband, who found out days later from a customer at the store.
On Aug. 28, 1955, Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from the home of his uncle, Mose Wright.