[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1413-E1414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EMMETT TILL UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIME ACT OF 2007
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speech of
HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON
of mississippi
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my dear
friend and colleague, Mr. Lewis of Georgia for leading this effort.
The murder and subsequent miscarriage of justice in the unresolved
civil rights cases still remains this country's biggest transgression.
The first step towards erasing the injustices that has haunted the
families of the victims is to, as a nation, acknowledge and give due
diligence to these unsolved murders.
According to the FBI, there are roughly 100 unsolved homicide cases
from that time period. Among those is the murder of Emmett Till--for
whom the bill is named--an African-American teenager who was brutally
beaten and shot in 1955. His killers tied a cotton gin to his neck and
threw his body into a Mississippi river. That became a major event in
the civil rights movement. Two men were prosecuted for the crime but
were acquitted.
H.R. 923 authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2008-2017
for the Justice Department to hire special investigators to work on
solving civil rights crimes dating back to before 1969.
Justice being served in these cases is a reality. To name a few
examples in Mississippi: The 1994 conviction of Byron De La Beckwith
for his role in the assassination of Medgar Evers. The 2005 conviction
of Edgar Ray Killen for his role in the deaths of Schwerner, Chaney and
Goodman, the three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. The
conviction was based, in part, on new evidence that he had boasted of
the killing at a Ku Klux Klan rally and to others over the three
decades after the crime; and most recently, James Ford Seale, convicted
last Thursday, June 14, 2007, for his role in the abduction of two
Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, the African-American
teenagers in Meadville, Mississippi, in 1964.
This bill provides an honest effort to bring closure to the more than
40 families of unresolved civil rights cases in Mississippi.
Such as the Family of Charles Brown of Yazoo City, Miss., 1957--A
white man shot Brown, who was visiting the white man's sister. The
Justice Department handed the case over to the state.
The Family of Jessie Brown of Winona, Miss., 1965--The 1965 NAACP
annual report claimed white farmer R.M. Gibson killed Brown.
The Family of Eli Brumfield of McComb, Miss., 1961--Police officer B.
F. Elmore alleged self-defense after shooting Brumfield. Police claimed
Brumfield jumped from his car with a pocket knife after police pulled
him over for speeding.
The Family of Silas (Ernest) Caston of Jackson, Miss., 1964--Caston
was shot by a local police officer. CORE and NAACP filed a civil suit
against Deputy Sheriff Herbert Sullivan. The result of that suit is
unknown.
The Family of Vincent Dahmon of Natchez, Miss., 1966--Dahmon, 65, was
shot in the head around the time of a march in support of James
Meredith.
[[Page E1414]]
The Family of Woodrow Wilson Daniels of Water Valley, Miss., 1958--
Sheriff Buster Treloar, identified by four witnesses as the man who
beat Daniels to death in a prison, was freed after 23 minutes of
deliberation by an all-white jury. ``By God,'' Treloar said after the
trial. ``Now I can get back to rounding up bootleggers and damn
niggers.''
The Family of Pheld Evans of Canton, Miss., 1964--Medgar Evers
identified Evans as having been killed under mysterious circumstances.
The Family of J. E. Evanston of Long Lake, Miss., 1955--Evanston's
body is fished out of Long Lake in December. Evanston was a teacher in
the local elementary school.
The Family of Jasper Greenwood of Vicksburg, Miss., 1964--Greenwood
was found shot to death near his car on a rural road. Police said the
slaying was not racially motivated.
The Family of Jimmie Lee Griffin of Sturgis, Miss., 1965--Griffin was
killed in a hit-and-run accident. A coroner's report revealed Griffin
was run over at least twice.
The Family of Luther Jackson of Philadelphia, Miss., 1959--Jackson
was killed by police after he and his girlfriend were found talking in
their car, which was stalled in a ditch. Police claim Jackson attacked
them.
The Family of Ernest Jells of Clarksdale, Miss., 1964--Jells was
accused of stealing a banana from a grocery and pointing a rifle at
pursuing police officers. The officers were exonerated.
The Family of John Lee of Goshen Springs, Miss., 1965--Lee's body was
found beaten on a country road.
The Family of Willie Henry Lee of Rankin County, Miss., 1965--Lee,
who was known to have attended civil rights meetings, was found beaten
on a country road. An autopsy revealed he died by strangulation from
gas.
The Family of George Love of Indianola, Miss., 1958--Love was killed
in a gun battle with police who believed he was responsible for a
murder and arson. He was later cleared of any connection to the murder.
The Family of Sylvester Maxwell of Canton, Miss., 1963--Maxwell's
castrated and mutilated body was found by his brother-in-law less than
500 yards from the home of a white family.
The Family of Robert McNair of Pelahatchie, Miss., 1965--McNair was
killed by a town constable.
The Family of Clinton Melton of Sumner, Miss., 1956--Elmer Otis
Kimbell was cleared in Melton's death. Kimbell claimed Melton fired at
him three times before he returned fire with a shotgun. No gun was
found in Melton's car or on his body.
The Family of Booker T. Mixon of Clarksdale, Miss., 1959--Mixon's
body was found lying on the side of the road, completely nude. Police
claimed it was a hit-and-run, though family members cited his naked
body and the extensive amount of flesh torn from his body as evidence
of murder.
The Family of Nehemiah Montgomery of Merigold, Miss., 1964--
Montgomery, 60, was shot by police after allegedly refusing to pay for
gas. Police were acquitted, and the shooting was called justifiable
homicide.
The Family of Sam O'Quinn of Centreville, Miss., 1959--O'Quinn,
derided by some local whites for being ``uppity,'' was shot after
joining the NAACP.
The Family of Hubert Orsby of Pickens, Miss., 1964--Orsby's body was
found in the Black River. It was reported that he was wearing a t-shirt
with ``CORE,'' written on it, representing the Congress of Racial
Equality.
The Family of William Roy Prather of Corinth, Miss., 1959--Prather,
15, was killed in an anti-black Halloween prank. One of eight youths
involved was indicted on manslaughter charges.
The Family of Johnny Queen of Fayette, Miss., 1965--A white off-duty
constable was named in the pistol slaying of Johnny Queen. The shooting
was not connected to any arrest.
The Family of Donald Rasberry of Okolona, Miss., 1965--Rasberry was
shot to death by his plantation boss.
The Family of Jessie James Shelby of Yazoo City, Miss., 1956--Shelby,
23, was fatally wounded by a police officer who claimed he shot Shelby
because he resisted arrest.
The Family of Ed Smith of State Line, Miss., 1958--A grand jury
refused to indict L.D. Clark in the death of Smith, who was shot in his
yard in front of his wife. Clark later reportedly bragged about the
killing.
The Family of Eddie James Stewart of Crystal Springs, Miss., 1966--
Stewart was reportedly beaten and shot while in police custody. Police
claimed he was shot while trying to escape.
The Family of Isaiah Taylor of Ruleville, Miss., 1964--Taylor was
shot by a police officer after allegedly lunging at him with a knife.
The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
The Family of Freddie Lee Thomas of LeFlore County, Miss., 1965--
Federal investigators looked into the death of Thomas, 16. Thomas's
brother believed he was murdered as a warning against black voter
registration. The result of the investigation is unknown.
The Family of Saleam Triggs of Hattiesburg, Miss., 1965--The body of
Mrs. Triggs was found mysteriously burned to death.
The Family of Clifton Walker of Adams County, Miss., 1964--Walker was
killed by a shotgun blast at close range. The result of a federal
investigation is unknown; and a host of others.
We must act--not only to bring these criminals to justice, but to
also cleanse our Nation of this stain. The unsolved case of Emmett Till
and other victims of the civil rights movement represent a terrible
chapter in our Nation's history. Over the years there have been
sporadic efforts to prosecute some of the civil rights era slayings
that were ignored at the time. We need to address these injustices
before it is too late--before they become permanent scars on our
Nation's history. It is essential that Congress pass this legislation
mandating a well-coordinated and well-funded effort to investigate and
prosecute unsolved crimes from the civil rights era.
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