mississippi burning arrests

The Mississippi Burning Murders Changed Civil Rights History - Yahoo! None served more than six years. [78] On March 29, 1989, at the 61st Academy Awards, the film won only one of the seven awards for which it was nominated, Best Cinematography. "He just said it's unfair that because of the color of your skin, you should go to a lousy school," David Goodman said. Mississippi Burning The burned interior and exterior (right) of the station wagon that was discovered following the disappearance of three civil rights activists. [38], Mississippi Burning held its world premiere at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C., on December 2, 1988,[39] with various politicians, ambassadors and political reporters in attendance. So, Mr. Parker does not greatly exaggerate in a. The 1964 killings of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County sparked national outrage and [] A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. That sense of social justice led Andy Goodman to Ohio in June 1964. [14] In 2005, one perpetrator, Edgar Ray Killen, was charged for his part in the crimes. [19], During the screenwriting process, Parker and Colesberry began scouting locations. Nov 8 (Reuters) - A 23-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of setting seven buildings on fire early in the morning, including two churches, near Jackson State University in the. The Klan in Mississippi, in particular, was after a 24-year-old New Yorker named Michael Schwerner. The FBI then concentrates on Lester Cowens, a Klansman of interest who exhibits a nervous demeanor, which the agents believe might yield a confession. Mississippi Summer Project volunteers in June 1964. A night later, the crew shot the film's opening sequence, in which the three civil rights workers are murdered. The Klansmen are all charged with civil rights violations, as this can be prosecuted at the federal level (murder was a state-based charge in 1964). . The five protestors who were arrested were charged with between nine and 12 offenses, including assault, obstructing sidewalks and desecration of national flags. [43] The film grossed an additional $160,628 in its second weekend. With the exception of the sheriff, all the others, including Lester, receive sentences ranging from 3 to 10 years. 5. An autopsy revealed that Goodman was likely buried alive since there was red clay dirt in his lungs and in his grasped fists. They visited eight states based on suggestions made by the location department. [19], Following its release, Mississippi Burning became embroiled in controversy over its fictionalization of events. 2. In that interview, Mitchell said, Bowers bragged that he was "quite delighted" to be convicted and have a preacher who planned the killings walk out a free man. Never-before-seen case files, photographs and other records documenting the investigation into the infamous slayings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi are now open to the public for the first time, 57 years after their deaths. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On April 11, 1988, the crew filmed a scene set in the Cedar Hill Cemetery. The "Mississippi Burning" Trial: An Account - Famous Trials [19], The studio then began its search for a director. Anderson and Ward concoct a plan, luring identified Klan collaborators to a bogus meeting, but the men soon realize they have been set up and leave without discussing the murders. [20] Brian Dennehy was briefly considered for the role[25] before Orion suggested Hackman. [20] Bell was first asked by Parker to read for the role of Clinton Pell, a role that was ultimately given to Brad Dourif. The Mississippi Burning Trial: United States vs. Cecil price et al. (1967) [7] On presenting Clinton Pell's wife as an informant, Gerolmo said, "the fact that no one knew who Mr. X, the informant, was, left that as a dramatic possibility for me, in my Hollywood movie version of the story. Late afternoon, June 23: Intelligence developed by our agents led them to the remains of the burnt-out station wagon, shown above. "[65] Sheila Benson, in her review for the Los Angeles Times, wrote, "Hackman's mastery at suggesting an infinite number of layers beneath a wry, self-deprecating surface reaches a peak here, but McDormand soars right with him. [20] As the script was being written, Parker frequently discussed the project with Hackman. Men were investigating burning of black church in Philadelphia, Mississippi, when they vanished in June 1964 Bodies found buried in a ditch three weeks later Local sheriff's deputy arrested them on traffic charge, alerted mob, then freed them KKK leader Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of the men's manslaughter in 2005, and died in prison in 2016 The Associated Press contributed to this report. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, who are met with hostility by the town's residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan. "There's still a tremendous amount of work to be done.". Mississippi Burning Flashcards | Quizlet During 1964, a civil rights movement, called Freedom Summer, was launched to get African Americans in the southern United States registered to vote. [4][5] After Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner failed to return to Meridian, Mississippi, on time, workers for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) placed calls to the Neshoba County jail, asking if the police had any information on their whereabouts. Said David Goodman, who was 17 years old when his brother was killed: "It took two white kids to legitimize the tragedy of being murdered if you wanted to vote.". [2] "Mississippi Arrests 12 Freedom Riders, . After the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act just last year, Andy Goodman's brother can't help but remember the summer of 1964. His big break came when he obtained leaked files from the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a segregationist group that tried to curb growing civil rights activism. While it was a struggle for African-Americans to vote in 1964, Mississippi now has more elected black officials than any other state in the country. . . Their. [59], Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the film's fictionalization of history, writing, "The film doesn't pretend to be about the civil-rights workers themselves. TV Shows. [13] In the process of reopening the case, Mitchell, Bradford and the three students discovered the informant's identity. "What they said happened and what they did to me certainly wasn't right and something ought to be done about it. Arsonist sets seven fires, destroys church in Jackson, Mississippi It was there, at a training session for the Congress of Racial Equality, that the Queens College student would meet James Chaney, a black 21-year-old from Mississippi, and Michael Schwerner, a white 24-year-old from New York. The. It's a message written from a 20-year-old to his parents, informing them that he'd arrived safely in Meridian, Mississippi for a summer job. [19] The crew also filmed the abduction of Mayor Tilman (R. Lee Ermey) and his subsequent interrogation by FBI agent Monk (Badja Djola). "[28] Rainey's lawsuit was unsuccessful; he dropped the suit after Orion's team of lawyers threatened to prove that the film was based on fact, and that Rainey was indeed suspected in the 1964 murders. Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 14th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, 23rd National Society of Film Critics Awards, "FBI 50 Years Since Mississippi Burning", "The Murders and Trial - Mississippi Burning Part 2", "Slain civil rights workers found - Aug 04, 1964 - HISTORY.com", "The 'Mississippi Burning' Case - Civil Rights Movement", "FBI Mississippi Burning (MIBURN) Case", "Students, teacher 'carry burden' for slain civil rights workers", "New details on the FBI paying $30K to solve the Mississippi Burning case", "A Conviction in Mississippi - Alan Parker - Director, Writer, Producer - Official Website", "Edgar Ray Killen, convicted of 1964 'Mississippi Burning' killings, dies at 92", "Mississippi Burning - Alan Parker - Director, Writer, Producer - Official Website", "Index to Motion Picture Credits - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "FBI used mafia capo to find bodies of Ku Klux Klan victims", "Provocative Dafoe Prefers His Film Roles Served Hot", "Sheriff sues film studio, claiming he was libeled", "Tulsa's Gailard Sartain Takes on Serious Role In "Mississippi Burning', "Michael Rooker talks 'Mississippi Burning,' 'Guardians of the Galaxy', "Actor Says 'Mississippi' Bad-guy Role Was A Good Part", "Tobin Bell: A Pivotal Piece of the 'Saw' Puzzle", "A Time for Burning--Murder in Mississippi", "Two Days with Trevor Jones at the Phone (First Day)", "Trevor Jones - Mississippi Burning (Original Soundtrack Recording) (Vinyl, LP, Album)", "Mississippi Burning (1988) - Weekend Box Office Results", "1988 Yearly Box Office for R Rated Movies", "Old Stars, New Kids In Summer Rock Tapes", "Mississippi Burning: Collector's Edition [ID3922OR]", "Mississippi Burning (1988) - Rotten Tomatoes", "Show Business: Just Another Mississippi Whitewash", "Review/Film - Retracing Mississippi's Agony, 1964", "Siskel and Ebert Top Ten Lists - Inner Mind", "Subtle Portrayals Imbue Heavy Drama 'Burning', "RCritic's Notebook: Some 'Burning' Questions", "True Crime Story: Mississippi Burning (Crime Documentary) | Real Stories", "Brother of Slain Rights Worker Blasts Movie", "Another Case of Murder in Mississippi: TV movie on the killing of three civil rights workers in 1964 tries to fill in what 'Mississippi Burning' left out", "1988 Archives National Board of Review", "Academy Showers 'Rain Man' With 8 Oscar Bids: 'Dangerous Liaisons' and 'Mississippi Burning' Get 7 Each", "The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners", British Academy of Film and Television Arts, "AFI's 100 Years 100 Cheers Nominees", "L.A. Film Critics Vote Lahti, Hanks, 'Dorrit' Winners", "Winners & Nominees 1989 (Golden Globes)", "Political Film Society - Previous Award Winners", "Burning Mississippi into Memory? On May 5, the production shot one of the film's final scenes, in which Anderson discovers Mrs. Pell's home trashed. Circa 10:30 p.m., June 21: Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were released and drove off in the direction of Meridian in a blue station wagon. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen damn in rural Neshoba County - 44 days after they went missing. The bodies were then taken to a farm pond where Herman Tucker was waiting. "[71] Chaney stated, "the image that younger people got (from the film) about the times, about Mississippi itself and about the people who participated in the movement being passive, was pretty negative and it didn't reflect the truth. Murder in Mississippi, Norman Rockwell, 1965. "It's like 50 years back to the future. [7], Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King Jr., boycotted the film, stating, "How long will we have to wait before Hollywood finds the courage and the integrity to tell the stories of some of the many thousands of black men, women and children who put their lives on the line for equality? 84% - Critics. [19] Parker and Colesberry had difficulty finding a small town for the story setting before choosing LaFayette, Alabama, to act as scenes set in the fictional town of Jessup County, Mississippi, with other scenes being shot in a number of locales in Mississippi. Mark Whitaker on the history of the Black power movement, Bryan Stevenson on teaching history and the pursuit of justice, Remembering MLK Jr.'s fight for voting rights, Black veteran still waiting for Medal of Honor, 56 years later, 50 years ago: When all eyes were on Mississippi, 89-year-old Carolyn Goodman took the stand and read the postcard that her son had written to her, dig up information on other racially motivated murders, issue of voter ID requirements is still hotly debated, struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act just last yea. [2] . [49] The film was released on Blu-ray on May 12, 2015, by the home video label Twilight Time, with a limited release of 3,000 copies. In the end, the Klans homicidal ways backfired. Leslie Spiers. The three Freedom Summer workers, all in their 20s, had been investigating the burning of a black church near Philadelphia, Mississippi when they disappeared in June of 1964. [46], Mississippi Burning was released on VHS on July 27, 1989, by Orion Home Video. [53] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. What we may have forgotten, or never known, is exactly what kinds of currents were in the air in 1964. Edgar Ray Killen, convicted of 1964 'Mississippi Burning' killings The students and teacher were able to convince Killen to do a taped interview for a history documentary they were putting together about the murders. Dead were three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, all shot in the dark of night on a lonely road in Neshoba County, Mississippi. 'Mississippi Burning' case files open at state archives Nine were acquitted, and the jury deadlocked on three others. Mississippi Burning One night in Jessup County, Mississippi in June 1964, Pell, after releasing three civil rights workers from detention, leads six other Klansmen in three cars to chase after them and ram their car. . June 24 to August 3. The story behind the title film, Mississippi Burning is one of tragedy and extreme racism in a small Mississippi town but the history of the 1960s and the South is far more appalling. Johnson's aide Lee White told the president that there was no trace of the men and they had "disappeared from the face of the earth." Although the obtained information is not admissible in court due to coercion, it does prove valuable to the investigators. The teenager charged with murdering a Memphis pastor during a carjacking in July of 2022 is out of jail now. The shooting script required that a total of 62 locations be used for filming. [19] Hackman said that "it felt right to do something of historical import. By Joyce Peterson and Lydian Kennin. At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, How a Minnesota hockey league helped a Ukrainian refugee feel at home, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Trump met with early primary state GOP leaders, On June 21, 1964, civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner were ambushed and shot dead by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi, Remembering the "Mississippi Burning" murders, Pittsburgh woman missing for 31 years found alive in Puerto Rico, School shooting survivor has emotional audition on "American Idol". Serial riot-arrestee Darren Ray Stephens, 36, was arrested on May 28 and charged with reckless burning and third-degree criminal mischief related to his alleged involvement in a violent unlawful . Anderson devises a plan to indict members of the Klan for civil rights violations, instead of murder, as civil rights are federal charges where conviction is more certain compared to a state-level charge of murder. Witnesses said Killen then went to a Philadelphia funeral home as an alibi while the fatal attack occurred. From left, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. In the film, during the car stop precipitating the murder, the driver is white (presumably either Andrew Goodman or Michael Schwerner), and the black civil rights volunteer (presumably James Chaney) is in the back seat. The art department restored the theatre's interiors to reflect the time period. [17] For legal reasons, the names of the people and certain details related to the FBI's investigation were changed. [20], Parker held casting calls in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, New Orleans, Raleigh and Nashville. Mississippi Man Shot After Reporting Cross Burning In Yard Mike Malloy Show 1:34 Mississippi Burning - Trailer (Englisch) Moviepilot 9:57 Murder In Mississippi _ Mississippi Burning christian rakosky 12:07 Mississippi Burning Fr 6/10 weshbynight 1:07 Mississippi Burning Free Movie 1:29 MYmovies 1:28 It was named one of the "Top 10 Films of 1988" by the National Board of Review. [19][22], Gerolmo described his original draft script as "a big, passionate, violent detective story set against the greatest sea-change in American life in the 20th century, the civil rights movement". [39][40] Orion was confident that the limited release would help qualify the film for Academy Awards consideration, and generate strong word-of-mouth support from audiences. Racism In Mississippi Burning - 1156 Words | Bartleby Mystery Deepens in Case of Burned Mississippi Teen Jessica - ABC News Top to bottom: Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe, who star in the film. Updated: Jun. Arriving in Philadelphia, Mississippi on June 21, the three were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price, who charged Chaney with speeding and held the other two "for investigation." Though the. The murders galvanized the nation and provided impetus for the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2., Events and Discoveries in 2017Christmas TraditionsSexual MisconductLutheranismJewish High Holy DaysNation of IslamSlave TradeSolar EclipsesAlcohol Abuse in AmericaHistory of the Homeschooling MovementEugenicsNorth KoreaRamadanBlack Hebrew IsraelitesNeil Gorsuch and Supreme Court ConfirmationsInternational Womens DayHealth Effects of MarijuanaJ. R. R. TolkienAleppo and the Syrian CrisisFidel CastroC.S. JACKSON, Miss. A great scene from a good movie all arrests made successfully great job on The FBIs part Fifty years have passed since Goodman and two other civil rights workers, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, were ambushed and shot dead by the Ku Klux Klan in Philadelphia, Mississippi. 3. When they did not report in by phone as civil rights workers in Mississippi were trained to do, fellow activists began calling local and federal law-enforcement officials. Here are nine things you should know about revival and the history of revivals in America. During his state trial in 2005, witnesses testified that on June 21, 1964, Killen went to Meridian to round up carloads of klansmen to ambush Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, telling some of the klan members to bring plastic or rubber gloves. The Mississippi Burning murders (also known as the Freedom Summer murders) involved three civil-rights activistsJames Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwernerwho were abducted and murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, in June 1964. 21 arrests by the police for the 3 murdered men . After filming The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Willem Dafoe expressed interest in playing Ward,[20] and Parker traveled to Los Angeles, where he met with the actor to discuss the role. In reality, James Chaney had been driving the car because he was familiar with the area. The next day the FBI began searching for the three men, and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered 150 federal agents to be sent from New Orleans to Mississippi. For More Information:- 50 Years Since Mississippi Burning (2014 Story)- Mississippi Burning FBI Case Records- Department of Justice Report on the Investigation of the 1964 Murders of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. (Click images for high-res.) The Mississippi Summer Project was announced Jan 21, 1964. . [81], This article is about the film. [19] In December 1987, Parker and Colesberry traveled to Mississippi to visit the stretch of road where Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were murdered. Mississippi Burning They can only arrest them for a violation of Civil Rights Law and not a citizen's arrest. Joe Carter is a senior writer for The Gospel Coalition, author of The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible, and coauthor of How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from Historys Greatest Communicator. The vast majority of these arrests (85%) were for non-violent offenses such as drug possession or traffic violations. He omitted the Mafia hitman and created the character Agent Monk, a black FBI specialist who kidnaps Tilman. [19][21] The director also began selecting the creative team; the production reunited Parker with many of his past collaborators, including Colesberry, casting directors Howard Feuer and Juliet Taylor, director of photography Peter Biziou, editor Gerry Hambling, costume designer Aude Bronson-Howard, production designer Geoffrey Kirkland, camera operator Michael Roberts, and music composer Trevor Jones. The burned interior and exterior (right) of the station wagon that was discovered following the disappearance of three civil rights activists. Acting on an informant tip, we exhumed all three bodies 14 feet below an earthen dam on a local farm. President Lyndon Johnson ordered the FBIto assist local law enforcement officers in the search for the missing men. In the video, you can see a man filling up a gas can, that man has been cleared by police. [67] Much of the violence and intimidation of the black people in the film is drawn from events that occurred at the time, although not necessarily in relation to this investigation. "[39] The film was given a platform release, first being released in a small number of cities in North America before opening nationwide. Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. The film was shot in a number of locations in Mississippi and Alabama, with principal photography from March to May 1988. The people featured on this . October 20, 1967. Tunica; No claims to the accuracy of this information are made. The previously sealed materials - dating from 1964 to 2007 - were transferred to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History from the Mississippi attorney general's office in 2019. That led to the June 2005 conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, a 1960s Ku Klux Klan leader and Baptist minister, on manslaughter charges. Date: 3/3 8:26 am #1 DWLS. Pell beats his wife brutally in retribution after discovering her betrayal. Goodman says if his brother were alive today, he'd be doing the exact same thing. The volunteers, all in their 20s, had been investigating the burning of a Black church near Philadelphia, Mississippi, when they disappeared. The car was abandoned and burned, whichled the FBI to name the case MIBURN, for Mississippi Burning. One man wrote a letter in 2005 to the Clarion-Ledger editor, saying Mitchell "should be tarred, feathered and run out of the state of Mississippi.". What was scheduled as an hour-long chapel service last Wednesday has turned into a multi-day revival at Asbury University. in Mississippi Burning. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. "This arrest is a result of the combined investigative efforts of the Yalobusha County Sheriff's Office . [19] From March 14 to March 18, the crew filmed the burning of several more churches, as well as scenes set in a farm. Chaney a black man, was beaten with chains, castrated, and shot while Schwerner and Goodman, the two white activists, were forced to watch. The family of 16-year-old Miguel Andrade posted his bond, securing his release from the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar, where the young man was being held as an adult. A deputy sheriff in Philadelphia had arrested them on a traffic charge, then released them after alerting a mob. The FAQs: Anglican Communion Splits over Blessing of Same-Sex Marriages, 9 Things You Should Know About Revivals in America, The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Sports Betting, Why Falling Religious Attendance Could Be Increasing Deaths of Despair, Economics for Church Leaders: Understanding the Debt Limit Crisis. In 1964, the Justice Department, then led by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, knew they were up against segregationist authorities who would never charge the alleged attackers as well as all-white juries who would refuse to convict the suspects of murder. In 1964, three civil rights workers two Jewish and one black go missing while in Jessup County, Mississippi, organizing a voter registry for African Americans after having being shot dead in their car by pursuants. Mississippi's then-governor claimed their disappearance was a hoax, and segregationist Sen. Jim Eastland told President Lyndon Johnson it was a "publicity stunt" before their bodies were dug up, found weeks later in an earthen dam. Mississippi Burning (1988) - Eulogy Scene (9/10) | Movieclips Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Glowing performance of Frances McDormand as the deputy's wife who's drawn to Hackman is an asset both to his role and the picture. [43], Mississippi Burning's first week of limited release saw it take $225,034, an average of $25,003.40 per theater. Fighting to Remember Mississippi Burning - The Atlantic On June 21, 1964, the bodies of the three men were found in a ditch on a country road near the town of Philadelphia. [43] More theaters were added during the limited run, and on January 27, 1989, the film officially entered wide release. On June 21, 2005, the 41st anniversary of the three murders, a jury rejected the charges of murder, but found Killen guilty of recruiting the mob that carried out the killings and convicted him of manslaughter. The wife of Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell reveals to Anderson in a discreet conversation that the three missing men have been murdered and their bodies buried in an earthen dam. It's just wrong. The postcard that Andy Goodman wrote to his parents. "[27], Gailard Sartain plays Ray Stuckey, the sheriff of Jessup Countya character based on former Neshoba County sheriff Lawrence A. The art department had to dress each plant with layers of cotton, as the cotton plants had not fully bloomed. [19] On March 22, the crew filmed scenes set in a morgue that was located inside the University of Mississippi Medical Center, exactly the same location where the bodies of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were transported. 'Mississippi Burning' Case Files Released for First Time [19] The filmmakers did not retain the names of actual people; many of the supporting characters were composites of people related to the murder case. In the film's opening scene, local police stop threemen, two white and one black, in a car on an otherwise deserted country roadlate at night. Director Alan Parker Writer Chris Gerolmo Stars Gene Hackman Willem Dafoe Frances McDormand See production, box office & company info Watch on Pluto TV Go to pluto.tv More watch options Add to Watchlist The sequence required a multiple-camera setup; a total of three cameras were used during the shoot. Should Christian Parents Send Their Children to Public Schools? [19], On March 11, the production filmed scenes set in a pig farm, where a young boy is confronted and attacked by three perpetrators. Remembering and Forgetting Black Power in Mississippi Burning But Mitchell says others were grateful for the belated justice as Mississippi tried to shed its racially charged past. While attempting to return to Meridian, Mississippi, the three men were arrested for traffic violations and jailed. . Clay. PHOTO: Officials Close Investigation Into 1964 'Mississippi Burning' Killings. Mrs. Pell returns to her home, which has been completely ransacked by vandals. A neighbor has been charged with arson for burning the trailer where former state Rep. Ashley Henley's sister-in-law's body was found around Christmas the same property where authorities say Henley was gunned down on June 13. . Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. The year after the Killen verdict, the FBI reached out to local authorities and other organizations to try todig up information on other racially motivated murders that were unsolved from the civil rights era. No bodies were found; the worst was feared. When Schwerner cradled Chaney in his arms (see image below) a Klansman asked, Are you that n***** lover? When Schwener replied, Sir, I understand your concern he was shot in the heart.

Larry Squirrel'' Demps Death, Articles M