THE
LONG ARM
OF THE LAW
Reopened investigation into the 1955 Kidnapping and Murder of Emmett Till
06/01/04
It was a horrible case.
In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old African-American Emmett Till had gone
on vacation from Chicago to visit family in Money, Mississippi. He was
shopping at a store owned by Roy and Carolyn Bryant--and someone said he
whistled at Mrs. Bryant, a white woman.
At some point around
August 28, he was kidnapped, beaten, shot in the head, had a large metal
fan tied to his neck with barbed wire, and was thrown into the Tallahatchie
River. His body was soon recovered, and an investigation was opened.
It took fewer than four
weeks for the case to go to trial: Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W.
Milam were accused of the murder, and an all white, all male jury acquitted
both of them. No one else was ever indicted or prosecuted for involvement
in the kidnapping or murder. Bryant and Milam, though, later confessed
and told a magazine journalist all the grisly details of their crime. They
are both, now, long deceased.
Emmett Till's murder
has never been forgotten or forgiven. Now, renewed focus on that historic
case has suggested that others might have been involved--and while the
5-year statute of limitations has expired for federal prosecution, prosecution
by Mississippi officials remains possible.
We are seeking
information on this case. "If anyone responsible for the
murder of Emmett Till is identified and brought to trial, it will be
through information held by someone who lived or still lives in the area
sounding Money, Mississippi, or from something they were told by an elderly
relative who lived in the area," says Bill Jenkins, in charge of
the FBI's Jackson Office. "We are dedicated to the identification
and prosecution of any participant in this heinous crime."
If you have
any knowledge of the events surrounding the murder of Emmett Till, please
call the FBI's Jackson Office at 601-948-5000. It is never too
late for justice to be served, never too late to bring closure to Emmett
Till's family.
This renewed investigation
is a cooperative venture between Mississippi District Attorney Joyce Chiles,
U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee, federal attorneys, FBI Special Agents, and
local law enforcement.
Links: FBI
press release | Department
of Justice Press Release
