Its been so long that most of the participants in the case are probably dead and buried or on their way out. I mean if you are trying to make a testament to justice then I guess you can solve them but we got bigger problems right now

Oct 10, 2008 - 07:42AM, Jay wrote:

there's no statute of limitations on murder...so with that said, I think the cases (and others), should be re-looked at, since a certain length of time has passed. much like the way the introduction of DNA has helped some people clear their names, the same should be true of solving certain cold cases. but without fresh evidence...that's kinda problematical. but letting fresh eyes take a look at a case could help. and being that it was a different era when a lotta civil rights cases occured, there might be a better chance at solving them now...

 

IMO, it would be a good look to have cold cases (overall, not just civil rights cold cases), become study material in certain courses in school (college). fresh eyes and fresh ideas.

I like that idea.....certainly about more than spending money to re-open cases when there are cases right now that need more time and money being invested. What happened in the civil rights era was tragic and a dark chapter (well book) for American and African American history. Although im sure plenty of lawmen in those times were paid off, I still  think re-opening cases that far from today, is too much of an after the fact thing. You know, the type of story that makes it on the backpage of the paper, thrown away and forgotten. Having those cases be used in lawschool though, sounds like a great idea.

Oct 09, 2008 - 11:10PM, Philly Jawn wrote:

I was watching a documentary on TVOne called "Murder In Black and White". It started Sunday (Oct. 5) and The Rev. Al Sharpton is host. Anyhoo, the show collaborates with the FBI to shed a light on the crimes.

Here is a description of some of the cases:
On July 25, 1946, four young African-Americans - George & Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger & Dorothy Malcom - were shot more than 60 times by 12-15 unmasked men in broad daylight at the Moore  's Ford Bridge  , 60 miles east of  Atlanta   . Roger Malcom had been jailed in  Walton County   for stabbing his White employer, whom he believed was having an affair with his wife. After a week in jail, Malcom's wife, his brother-in-law, and his wife accompanied a prominent White farmer, Loy Harrison, to bail him out. What they didn't realize was that this was a set-up to lynch Malcom, which escalated into the violent assassination of all four people.

On August 13, 1955 in Brookhaven, Mississippi, where another respected leader, Lamar "Ditney" Smith was also a victim of a hate-crime. Smith, who was involved in registering local Black citizens, drove a couple to the Lincoln County courthouse to deliver their absentee ballots for a county election. Once there, three White men approached him on the courthouse lawn and an altercation broke out in which someone shot Smith in the stomach with a 38 caliber pistol. Fearing their lives, no one came forth in the case and the White Citizens Council hindered murder indictments. 
On January 23, 1957, 24-year-old truck driver, husband and father of two children (and one unborn child) plunged to his death from a 50-foot-high bridge. His body was recovered several months later, and despite the fact that he had everything to live for, the case was officially considered an apparent suicide. Two decades later, the FBI and Alabama Attorney General, Bill Baxley discovered that Edwards was killed by the local Ku Klux Klan members who believed he had been "messing around" with White women.

On May 7, 1955, Rev. George Lee, a pillar of the black community in Belzoni who was the first Black registered to vote in Humphreys County since Reconstruction, was killed when the passenger in a passing car shot him in the face with a 20-gauge shotgun.  Lee crashed his car into a shack.


Do you think more needs to be done by our gov.'t to solve these crimes?
Do you think they should even be re-opened at all?
What kind of outcome do you think will occur due to this exposure?
Do you think cases like these are still an issue in today's society?

Do you think more needs to be done by our gov.'t to solve these crimes?  yes but i doubt it will happen

Do you think they should even be re-opened at all?  of course, why let those people go free, their still accountable for their actions no matter how long ago that was, you still murdered someone, think about those people family you murdered, they would want justice

What kind of outcome do you think will occur due to this exposure?  don't know, can't tell when it comes to the "men in suits"

Do you think cases like these are still an issue in today's society? everyday in your local neighborhood or somewhere around the world, things aint change that much

now this is how a thread is suppose to be made