Saturday, June 19, 2010

Attorney: Settlement Near In '64 Slayings

Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee

Attorney: Settlement Near In '64 Slayings


Jerry Mitchell • jmitchell@clarionledger.com
June 15, 2010

A landmark lawsuit against Franklin County filed by
families of two black teens killed by Klansmen in
1964 is near a settlement.

"The parties went in before a magistrate (judge) on
Wednesday and have almost reached an agreement
on the matter," said Margaret Burnham, director of
Northeastern University's Civil Rights and
Restorative Justice Program and one of several
attorneys for the families. "A decision has to be
made by the (Franklin County) Board of Supervisors
to accept terms. They meet again June 21."

On May 2, 1964, Klansmen abducted and beat Henry
Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, both 19,
before taking them to an old portion of the
Mississippi River and drowning them.

Reputed Klansman James Ford Seale, convicted in
2007 on kidnapping and conspiracy charges, is
serving three life sentences. On June 4, his
attorneys filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme
Court, hoping to have the case heard by the
justices.

The amount of the tentative settlement remains
confidential, Burnham said. "The plaintiffs are
content and feel the mission of bringing this lawsuit
was accomplished, which was to get a further sense
of what actually happened on May 2, 1964, when
two African-African young men were kidnapped and
murdered by the Klan as we all know and to
determine what, if any, role local officials played in
the events."

Franklin County's attorney, Michael Wolf, of Jackson,
would not comment Monday on the matter.

Moore's brother, Thomas, who successfully
championed the case's prosecution, said Monday he
was "satisfied with where we are in the case."

Last year, U.S. District Judge Tom Lee concluded the
families should be able to move forward with the
litigation, making it the first such lawsuit to clear
the hurdle of the statute of limitations since
unpunished killings from the civil rights era began
to be reopened in 1989.

Attorneys for Franklin County had called the killings
of Dee and Moore "abhorrent" but insisted the Klan
was solely responsible.

They had argued the lawsuit should be dismissed
because the statute of limitations is three years for
this type of litigation and would have expired in
1967.

But Lee cited a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
decision that found the statute of limitations "does
not run until the plaintiff is in possession of the
'crucial facts' that he has been hurt and the
defendant is involved."

The lawsuit brought by the families' attorneys -
Burnham, David Kelston, Rob McDuff and Sibyl Byrd
- said then-Franklin County Sheriff Wayne Hutto and
Deputy Kirby Shell conspired with the Klan to
commit these crimes, refused to investigate
afterward and then covered up what happened.
Hutto and Shell died decades ago.

The first time the families knew of this was when the
federal grand jury that indicted Seale in 2007 also
named Hutto as an unindicted co-conspirator, the
lawsuit said.

To comment on this story, call Jerry Mitchell at
(601) 961-7064.


*W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio* A Philadelphia Story: Remembering Goodman, Chaney & Schwerner...
A Conversation With Ben Chaney (The Brother Of James Chaney) & Veterans Of Freedom Summer 1964

Contact An American Civil Rights Veteran Today:
http://www.crmvet.org/

More On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio:
W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio~45th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial Service Preview With Bro. John Gibson
45th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs
Memorial Service & Conference & March For Justice
*Pre-Event Show With Bro. John Gibson*
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/06/18/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

Tha Artivist Reports: A Philadelphia Story Part One
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/07/tha-artivist-reports-philadelphia-story.html




W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special~Remembering The Black Maverick: Dr. T.R.M. Howard...
The Greatest Civil Rights Leader You Never Heard Of...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/10/01/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

***

*W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Exclusive*
I-Witness History: The Complete Interview With Dr. Hugh Stephen Whitaker
, Pioneering Emmett Till Murder Case Researcher

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/09/10/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

***


W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special~Susan Klopfer: Blogging For Justice & History For Emmett Till & The Mississippi Delta...Using 21st Century Technology To Get Justice & Archive History For 20th Century Atrocities In The Mississippi Delta...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/08/20/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio




***




W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special~Meet Alvin Sykes: Civil Rights Cold Case Justice Crusader...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/04/02/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

***




W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special: The Shame Of A Nation...The Emmett Till Legacy

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/03/12/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio


See More Emmett Till On W.E. A.L.L. B.E.:
The Ghosts Of Emmett Till...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/08/ghosts-of-emmett-till.html

WTF??? Burr Oak Cemetery: Black On Black Crime From Beyond The Grave...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/07/wtf-burr-oak-cemetery-black-on-black.html

FBI Report: Woman Emmett Till 'Whistled' @ Still Alive...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/fbi-report-woman-emmett-till-whistled.html

What I Will Teach My Black Son To Fear....
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-i-will-teach-my-black-son-to-fear.html

Park In Honor Of Emmett Till Opens Friday Sept. 19, 2008, in Mississippi...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/park-in-honor-of-emmett-till-opens.htmlmett-till-opens.html

Mississippi Comes Face To Face With Brutal Past In Emmett Till Exhibit...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/03/mississippi-comes-face-to-face-with.html

Tha Artivist Remembers Ernest Withers (1922-2007)...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/11/tha-artivist-remembers-ernest-withers.html

Mississippi Still Burning Like Southern California...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/10/mississippi-still-burning-like-southern.html

No Justice, Just Us For EMMETT...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-justice-just-us-for-emmett.html

More Dr. Gene Young On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News...

Barack Obama's Installation Is The End Of A Long Road To Washington For America's Civil Rights Campaigners...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/01/barack-obamas-installation-is-end-of.html

In Remembrance of Virgil Ware - Before the September 11 Attacks...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-remembrance-of-virgil-ware-before.html

Dr. Young Gives Food For Thought On What It's Like To Be A Civil Rights Pioneer...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/04/dr-young-gives-food-for-thought-on-what.html


Hear The Wisdom Of Dr. Young On These Following W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio
Specials...




W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: Yes He Did...So Now What??? Defining The Obama Presidency...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/11/16/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio









April 13, 2008~The State Of Black America Part One*


W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: February 18, 2007~"We Shall Overcome"-The Henry Hampton Collection (Creator of the Award Winning Eyes On The Prize Documentary)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/02/18/tha-artivist-presentsmaking-b

No comments: