Emmett Till Gets No Justice
How a 14-year-old Black boy, who may or may not have whistled at a white was tortured and lynched.
Such a heinous crime should not go unpunished by all those who had a hand in the murder of Emmett Till, (14 years old), in 1955. According to the news of late, the investigation into punishing all those that were responsible for his death starting with the lady who may have lied on him that he flirted with her is being closed.
Emmett Till’s family was notified by the U.S. Justice Department that the Emmett Till Murder case was ending its investigation into his abduction, torture, and lynching after being accused of whistling at a Mississippi white woman while visiting his family in Mississippi from Chicago.
As expected thee family was disappointed to hear of the closing of the investigation because they could not without a doubt prove their case that the victim, Carolyn Bryant Donham, lied even in the face of some doubt pertaining to her credibility
Sixty-six years have passed and no one has been held for his murder, the Justice Department could not prove without a doubt that Donham had lied and that is what is needed for a conviction.
The world will never forget how this young kid was brutalized beyond recognition as his mother demanded an open casket to show the world how Mississippi racist men butchered and tortured her son beyond recognition. His face was disfigured and swollen beyond the normal capacity of one’s face as was depicted in Jet magazine in 1955.
The investigation was reopened after a 2017 book quoted the accuser saying that she had lied and recanted her story. Upon this revelation, the Justice Department reopened the case after Till’s accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, now in her 80s, investigated if she did lie when she accused the 14-year-old Till of grabbing her, whistled at her, and made sexual advances while she worked in a local store in Money, Mississippi.
Donham’s relatives denied that Donham made that statement or recanted her testimony. Also, Donham informed the FBI that she did not recant her testimony and that left the FBI with the burden to try to prove otherwise.
Unfortunately, the writer of the book, “The Blood of Emmett Till” by Timothy B. Tyson, could not produce any recordings or transcripts to back up his claim of Donham recanting her testimony.
According to the news release, in the face of questions regarding the accuracy of Donham’s testimony, the government conveys that they take no position regarding the truth or accuracy of Donham’s testimony. According to the FBI, “There remains considerable doubt as to the credibility of her version of events, which is contradicted by others who were with Till at the time, including the account of a living witness.”
Emmett Till’s brutally beaten body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River days after he was murdered where he was thrown and had weighted down with a cotton gin fan by two white men, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Milam who were tried in court a month after the murder by an all-white Mississippi jury that acquitted them.
Months later, these two men confessed in a paid interview with Look Magazine. Bryant married Donham in 1955.
In the early 2000s, the Justice Department opened an investigation to charge anyone living that was responsible for Till’s death and discovered that the statute of limitations had run out on any potential federal crime, but the FBI worked with state investigators to determine if state charges could be brought.
Mississippi grand jury in 2007, declined to indict anyone, followed by the Justice Department announcement to close the case. Neither Bryant or Milam were brought to trial again, and have since died. Donham now resides in Raleigh, N.C.
This is an atrocity against humanity, other than Donham’s testimony which was taken at face value, without any evidence of violation to her in any way, Emmett Till’s young life was taken away, because one lady’s testimony said he did an act that he may or may not have done.
These white men died with blood on their hands and probably with lies in their hearts will never rest in peace. Oftentimes, the sins of the father may come upon the sons.
Even if what Donham said was true, did whistling or even flirting warrant murdering a 14-year-old Black boy who could have easily been these white men’s son, age-wise.
In conclusion, sadly to say there are other Emmett Till’s buried in their graves that we currently know nothing about but one thing about the truth, it does eventually surface to be dealt with.
As a result of Emmett Till’s case, the FBI in 2006 began a cold case initiative to investigate racially motivated killings from decades earlier. The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act allows for a review of killings that have not been solved or prosecuted to conviction. This is no solace to Till’s family but hopefully, other families who have experienced similar fate will get justice.
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