[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

                                 ______
                                 

                               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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