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Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 08:13:27 AM EST
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The unsolved murder of Emmett Till in 1955 was a huge impetus in the civil rights movement. In 2004, the Justice Department reopened the case "after a documentary filmmaker claimed to have found investigative errors and concluded that some people involved in the crime were still alive." [In 2005, the FBI exhumed Emmett Till's body.] The final report is now in. There will be no federal prosecution.

FBI agent John G. Raucci said in a statement that the five-year statute of limitations on federal civil rights violations had expired. The FBI's report was sent to District Attorney Joyce L. Chiles, who will decide if any state charges can be filed. Chiles did not return a call seeking comment.

More Emmett Till links:

< NYPD Memos Reveal Disturbing Tactics | More on Carla Martin, Moussaoui and the 9/11 Civil Litigation >

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    Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder | 14 comments (14 topical)
    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#1)
    by desertswine on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 12:40:04 PM EST
    50 years later, there may be justice for Emmett Till.
    Guess not.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 01:49:44 PM EST
    FBI agent John G. Raucci said in a statement that the five-year statute of limitations on federal civil rights violations had expired.
    They could have, or should have, known that before they even thought about reopening the case. So why did they go to all that trouble Something doesn't seem right here...

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#3)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 01:53:37 PM EST
    This was just another case of patriotic red-staters commitment to preemption - he would probobly have grown up to be a (more) uppity liberal or, one a 'em commonists. Praise Jesus.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 02:29:28 PM EST
    Well, after hearin' that nitwit on WJ this mornin' and listenin' to all the bush leaguers whine about shrub's reception at CSK's Memorial Service, why am I not surprised. We've been goin' backwards ever since Reagan got elected.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 07:19:00 PM EST
    i have a question for Talkleft on the Emmitt Till case. Why does it have to be a civil rights violation which has a statue of limitations and not murder which has no statue of limitations? Is there something I'm missing?

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 07:23:29 PM EST
    Oh, I think I figured out what I was missing the civil rights charge would be federal level, while murder charges would be state level. I think.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#7)
    by Deb on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 07:29:32 PM EST
    I don't think they can try them for murder once they have been found not guilty. If I remember correctly, they all but admitted the murder in a Time magazine interview after the trial.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 17, 2006 at 07:31:04 PM EST
    Thanks Deb, I didn't know they already had a trial. But it seems they could go after the people who hadn't been tried.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#9)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Mar 18, 2006 at 02:01:48 AM EST
    I'll tell you who ought to be tried, those b**tards sitting on the jury and dancing out in the street after the two good ol' boys walked out of the show trial. There's a documentary about this case that's absolutely sickening, and it's a good reminder of what homegrown American fascism looks like.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 18, 2006 at 03:30:36 AM EST
    This is an outrage. There is no statute of limitations on murder. Period.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#11)
    by Lww on Sat Mar 18, 2006 at 05:58:56 AM EST
    Yea Scar, "I'll tell you who ought to be tried, those b**tards sitting on the jury and dancing out in the street after the two good ol' boys walked out of the show trial." Like the OJ jury and the reaction in the black community reminded us, somethings never change.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 18, 2006 at 07:12:06 AM EST
    Posted by rojopelo521 March 17, 2006 02:49 PM FBI agent John G. Raucci said in a statement that the five-year statute of limitations on federal civil rights violations had expired.
    They could have, or should have, known that before they even thought about reopening the case. So why did they go to all that trouble Something doesn't seem right here...
    It's called going through the motions. Ashcroft didn't have to wait until 5/10/04 to reopen the case. What took him so long? There's only so much you can milk 9/11 for all it's worth and roll back Civil Liberties under the guise of National Security and call it the Patriot Act. He did that in the blink of an eye. He wasn't that pressed for time. This is why we have Hate Crimes Legislation. This is why we need Hate Crimes Legislation. So people don't get away with stuff like this for 40 years because no one will prosecute or convict. It's also why Bush is at 2 percent with Blacks. They've got eyes. They don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Too bad it took this long for everyone else to figure it out.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#13)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sun Mar 19, 2006 at 03:32:55 AM EST
    Re OJ trial: maybe if the star witness of the prosecution wasn't a racist cop that had to PLEAD THE FIFTH during the trial, the black folks on the jury would have been more likely to convict. Hey don't blame me...YOU wanted to stray off topic.

    Re: Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 19, 2006 at 04:29:31 AM EST
    Leave it to the loons to try and rationalize Emmett Till's murder by dragging OJ into it. Nice try. No sale. A Couple Hundred of Years of Institutionalized Racism are not given a pass because of one botched prosecution. It's not the Jury's job to bail out the prosecution when they blow the case.

    Feds Won't Prosecute in Emmett Till Murder | 14 comments (14 topical)