Justice
On June 21st, 1964, cival rights works James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman were beaten, shot and burried in an earthen dam in my hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. On that day, my hometown became the unofficial capital of racism in the south. Everytime you see a documentary about the racism that spread throughout the south in the 60's, you hear about these horrid murders. This past week, Edgar Ray Killen was finally arrested and charged with being the mastermind behind these murders. 40+ years after the fact, the wheels of justice have finally started to turn.
It's about time.
I will admit, I was opposed to going forward with this case in the beginning. Not because I didn't want to see those responsible for these murders brought to justice but because of the fact that so many in the case are very old or dead. Now that I think about it and see all that's developed over the last week, I feel that Neshoba County District Attorney Mark Duncan is right in pursuing this case and seeking justice. Killen, if found guilty, should be punished just as any other murder would be.
He should be put to death by lethal injection.
Yeah, I said it.
He should be put to death for his crimes if he's found guilty. I realize he's very old but that doesn't amount to a hill of beans in my book. "Let the punishment fit the crime." Some would say that I'm cruel for thinking this but a cold blooded killer is a cold blooded killer, regardless of age. Keep in mind that he wasn't so old when these murders were committed.
Killen's younger brother certainly was an idiot when he attacked a camera person from WJTV, Jackson, Mississippi. Killen's family as a whole has been very hostile, even violent, to the media and they must realize that this doesn't help his case any at all. This just solidifies the image that Edar Ray is a cold hearted man who believed in violence. The old saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" would fit in this case.
Many residents of Philadelphia and Neshoba County who have been interviewed by the local and national press have said, in effect, that times have changed in Neshoba County and that we want to see justice served so we can move forward. I certainly hope they keep this image in mind while dealing with the visiting media. I don't know if anyone in my hometown (other than my family) reads this but I implore my fellow Neshoba Countians to please show the visiting media and other guests the utmost respect and hospitality. Let's show them that times really have changed and that we're a group of forward thinking people, not the backward and barefoot rednecks the media tends to portray us as.
My prayers are with the Killen family, as well as the families of the murdered cival rights workers. I will also be praying for Mark Duncan and his family, as well as Judge Marcus Gordon and any potential jurors and witnesses. Justice must be done here. Nothing less should be accepted.
Complete web coverage on the case from WJTV can be found here.
--Jonathan
It's about time.
I will admit, I was opposed to going forward with this case in the beginning. Not because I didn't want to see those responsible for these murders brought to justice but because of the fact that so many in the case are very old or dead. Now that I think about it and see all that's developed over the last week, I feel that Neshoba County District Attorney Mark Duncan is right in pursuing this case and seeking justice. Killen, if found guilty, should be punished just as any other murder would be.
He should be put to death by lethal injection.
Yeah, I said it.
He should be put to death for his crimes if he's found guilty. I realize he's very old but that doesn't amount to a hill of beans in my book. "Let the punishment fit the crime." Some would say that I'm cruel for thinking this but a cold blooded killer is a cold blooded killer, regardless of age. Keep in mind that he wasn't so old when these murders were committed.
Killen's younger brother certainly was an idiot when he attacked a camera person from WJTV, Jackson, Mississippi. Killen's family as a whole has been very hostile, even violent, to the media and they must realize that this doesn't help his case any at all. This just solidifies the image that Edar Ray is a cold hearted man who believed in violence. The old saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" would fit in this case.
Many residents of Philadelphia and Neshoba County who have been interviewed by the local and national press have said, in effect, that times have changed in Neshoba County and that we want to see justice served so we can move forward. I certainly hope they keep this image in mind while dealing with the visiting media. I don't know if anyone in my hometown (other than my family) reads this but I implore my fellow Neshoba Countians to please show the visiting media and other guests the utmost respect and hospitality. Let's show them that times really have changed and that we're a group of forward thinking people, not the backward and barefoot rednecks the media tends to portray us as.
My prayers are with the Killen family, as well as the families of the murdered cival rights workers. I will also be praying for Mark Duncan and his family, as well as Judge Marcus Gordon and any potential jurors and witnesses. Justice must be done here. Nothing less should be accepted.
Complete web coverage on the case from WJTV can be found here.
--Jonathan
posted by Jonathan at
3:56 PM
1 Comments:
I remember "that day" just like it happended last week. I was a young boy of 12 who just happened to be living in a home that was situated two houses down from where then Sheriff Lawrence Rainey's home was, and right next door to a County Judge. Both were considered suspects in the gruesome murders, and I well remember the FBI agents coming to my house on several occasions to interview my parents about any knowledge of "suspicious activity" in the neighborhood. The FBI even interviewed me--a kid of 12 years old who should have had his mind on baseball games instead of murder. I well remember the busloads of Navy sailors from NAS-Meridian who were sent in to my neighborhood by the FBI to "look for evidence". It was a terrible time in our nation's history that branded my little home of Philadephia, Mississippi as the mob-killing, hate crime capital of the world forever. James Chaney, Michael Shwerner, and Andrew Goodman did not come to Neshoba County, Mississippi to raise hell--there was no evil intent in their hearts. They were here to simply try to do what they could for a group of people whose church was burned to the ground courtesy of the local chapter of the KKK. Now, 40 years later a man has been arrested and charged with the crime of murdering the young men. It's truly been a long time coming...something that should have happended long before now. But let's not close the book on this dark chapter in out local history too quickly. Let's not brand Mr. Killen guilty just because he is the first of those who has been charged with the crime. The State has to prove it's case. There must be evidence presented in Court to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that this man is guilty of what he has been charged with. The jury must decide the merits of the State's case against Mr. Killen. It's been a long time since my name was drawn for Jury duty...I pray to God that I am not picked to serve on that jury.
Dad
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