Congressman Thompson Pushes for Cold Case Unit at Justice Department
Press Release
CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON PUSHES FOR COLD CASE UNIT AT JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Today, United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) released the following statement regarding the passage of :
"I'd like to thank my dear friend and colleague, Mr. Lewis of Georgia for leading this effort. By an overwhelming vote of 422-2, the House has sent a clarion call that we will no longer sit idly by as murders go unresolved. 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 have haunted the families of the victims is to, as a nation, acknowledge and resolve 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.
o "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 necessary step in moving this country down the road of racial progress. Byron De La Beckwith, Edgar Ray Killen, and James Ford Seale serve as grim present-day reminders of the past transgressions. 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:
o Family of Charles Brown of Yazoo City, Miss., 1957 - A white man shot Brown, who was visiting the white man's sister.
o Family of Jessie Brown of Winona, 1965 - The 1965 NAACP annual report claimed white farmer R.M. Gibson killed Brown.
o Family of Eli Brumfield of McComb, 1961 - Police officer B.F. Elmore alleged self-defense after shooting Brumfield.
o Family of Silas (Ernest) Caston of Jackson, 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.
o Family of Vincent Dahmon of Natchez, 1966 - Dahmon, 65, was shot in the head around the time of a march in support of James Meredith.
o Family of Woodrow Wilson Daniels of Water Valley, 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.
o Family of Pheld Evans of Canton, 1964 - Medgar Evers identified Evans as having been killed under mysterious circumstances.
o Family of J.E. Evanston of Long Lake, 1955 - Evanston's body is fished out of Long Lake in December. Evanston was a teacher in the local elementary school.
o Family of Jasper Greenwood of Vicksburg, 1964 - Greenwood was found shot to death near his car on a rural road. Police said the slaying was not racially motivated.
o Family of Jimmie Lee Griffin of Sturgis, 1965 - Griffin was killed in a hit-and-run accident. A coroner's report revealed Griffin was run over at least twice.
o Family of Luther Jackson of Philadelphia, 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.
o Family of Ernest Jells of Clarksdale, 1964 - Jells was accused of stealing a banana from a grocery and pointing a rifle at pursuing police officers. The officers were exonerated.
o Family of John Lee of Goshen Springs, 1965 - Lee's body was found beaten on a country road.
o Family of Willie Henry Lee of Rankin County, 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.
o Family of George Love of Indianola, 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.
o Family of Sylvester Maxwell of Canton, 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.
o Family of Robert McNair of Pelahatchie, 1965 - McNair was killed by a town constable.
o Family of Clinton Melton of Sumner, 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.
o Family of Booker T Mixon of Clarksdale, 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.
o Family of Nehemiah Montgomery of Merigold, 1964 - Montgomery, 60, was shot by police after allegedly refusing to pay for gas. Police were acquitted, and the shooting was called justifiable homicide.
o Family of Sam O'Quinn of Centreville, 1959 - O'Quinn, derided by some local whites for being "uppity," was shot after joining the NAACP.
o Family of Hubert Orsby of Pickens, 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.
o Family of William Roy Prather of Corinth, 1959 - Prather, 15, was killed in an anti-black Halloween prank. One of eight youths involved was indicted on manslaughter charges.
o Family of Johnny Queen of Fayette, 1965 - A white off-duty constable was named in the pistol slaying of Johnny Queen. The shooting was not connected to any arrest.
o Family of Donald Rasberry of Okolona, 1965 - Rasberry was shot to death by his plantation boss.
o Family of Jessie James Shelby of Yazoo City, 1956 - Shelby, 23, was fatally wounded by a police officer who claimed he shot Shelby because he resisted arrest.
o Family of Ed Smith of State Line, 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.
o Family of Eddie James Stewart of Crystal Springs, 1966 - Stewart was reportedly beaten and shot while in police custody. Police claimed he was shot while trying to escape.
o Family of Isaiah Taylor of Ruleville, 1964 - Taylor was shot by a police officer after allegedly lunging at him with a knife. The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
o Family of Freddie Lee Thomas of LeFlore County, 1965 - Federal investigators looked into the death of Thomas, 16. Thomas' brother believed he was murdered as a warning against black voter registration. The result of the investigation is unknown.
o Family of Saleam Triggs of Hattiesburg, 1965 - The body of Mrs. Triggs was found mysteriously burned to death.
o Family of Clifton Walker of Adams County, 1964 - Walker was killed by a shotgun blast at close range. The result of a federal investigation is unknown.
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