the lawyer jim hood who prosecuted the killers of the rights activists

What law firm does James Hood work for?

Since leaving office, Hood has joined the national law firm Weisbrod Matteis & Copley, establishing the firm's first Mississippi-based office in Houston, Mississippi. Hood is the son of James Hood, Jr. Hood is a native of New Houlka in Chickasaw County in northeastern Mississippi.

What did Jim Hood do in 2005?

In 2005, Hood prosecuted former Klansman Edgar Ray Killen for orchestrating the 1964 murders of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney in Philadelphia, Mississippi during Freedom Summer . Jim Hood speaking at a Department of Justice event.

What did Asa Hood do to prevent workplace violence?

As A.G., Hood established a vulnerable adults unit, a domestic violence unit, an identity theft unit, and a crime prevention and victims services division. He has launched initiatives to prevent workplace and school violence, and stalking and domestic assault.

Is Jim Hood a pro-life Democrat?

"Jim Hood, a self-styled pro-life Democrat, draws rebuke from the right and the left on abortion". Mississippi Today. Retrieved November 2, 2019. ^ Election results for 2019 Mississippi primary races, Clarion Ledger, August 6, 2019.

How many cold cases have been closed?

To date, the department has closed more than 100 of the re-examined civil rights cold cases. “Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner gave their lives while struggling to advance the cause of civil rights for all," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

Did Harris pass on instruction to anyone else?

The report noted no evidence showed Harris passed on that instruction to anyone else. A former Klansman from Meridian who previously implicated Harris has now retracted that information, according to the report. Much has been done to memorialize the three slain civil rights workers.

Where were the 3 civil rights workers murdered?

June 1964 murders of 3 civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. Part of the Civil Rights Movement. Located remains of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner on August 4, 1964. Location.

Who was murdered in the Freedom Summer?

Murder of Wharlest Jackson. Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education. The murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, also known as the Freedom Summer murders, the Mississippi civil rights workers' murders or the Mississippi Burning murders, refers to three activists who were abducted and murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, ...

How many men were charged in the Neshoba County lynching?

Although federal authorities believed many others took part in the Neshoba County lynching, only ten men were charged with the physical murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. One of these was Deputy Sheriff Price, 26, who played a crucial role in implementing the conspiracy.

Why did Mississippi establish freedom schools?

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) wanted to address this problem by setting up Freedom Schools and starting voting registration drives in the state. Freedom schools were established in order to educate, encourage, and register the disenfranchised black citizens. CORE members James Chaney, from Mississippi, and Michael Schwerner, from New York City, intended to set up a Freedom School for black people in Neshoba County to try to prepare them to pass the comprehension and literacy tests required by the state.

When were the bodies of the Core activists found?

X") passed along a tip to federal authorities. They were discovered on August 4, 1964, 44 days after their murder, underneath an earthen dam on Burrage's farm. Schwerner and Goodman had each been shot once in the heart; Chaney, a black man, had been severely beaten, castrated and shot three times. The identity of "Mr. X" was revealed publicly forty years after the original events, and revealed to be Maynard King, a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer close to the head of the FBI investigation. King died in 1966.

Who was the Sheriff of Neshoba County?

Nine men, including Neshoba County Sheriff Lawrence A. Rainey, were later identified as parties to the conspiracy to murder Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. Rainey denied he was ever a part of the conspiracy, but he was accused of ignoring the racially-motivated offenses committed in Neshoba County.

When was the Civil Rights Bill down the drain?

Civil rights bill down the drain.". By late November 1964 the FBI accused 21 Mississippi men of engineering a conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. Most of the suspects were apprehended by the FBI on December 4, 1964.

Where did the Klan attempt to eliminate Schwerner?

The Klan's first attempt to eliminate Schwerner came on June 16, 1964 in the rural Neshoba County community of Longdale [LINK TO MAP] . Schwerner had visited Longdale on Memorial Day to ask permission of the black congregation at Mount Zion Church to use their church as the site of a "Freedom School." The Klan knew of Schwerner's Memorial Day visit to Longdale and expected him to return for a business meeting held at the church on the evening of June 16. About 10 p.m., when the Mount Zion meeting broke up, seven black men and three black women left the building to discover thirty men lined up in military fashion with rifles and shotguns. More men were gathered at the rear of the church. Frustrated when their search for "Jew-Boy" was unsuccessful, some of the Klan members began beating the departing blacks. Ten gallons of gasoline were removed from one of the Klan members cars and spread around the inside of the church. Mount Zion Church was soon engulfed in flames.

What highway did Chaney turn onto?

The other, less direct route, was a black topped Highway 16, which would take them west through Philadelphia, the county seat. Chaney turned onto Highway 16. Deputy Sheriff Price was at that time heading east on Highway 16.

What did Proctor find?

Proctor found that some of his most useful information came from kids, so he would stuff candy in his pockets before setting out for a day's schedule of interviews. A promise of $30,000 in reward money finally brought forward information, passed through an intermediary, concerning the location of the bodies.

How many Klansmen were indicted in the case of Cecil Price?

The list of those indicted differed slightly from the original list, and included the names of eighteen Klansmen. The Trial. Trial in the case of United States versus Cecil Price et al. began on October 7, 1967 in the Meridian courtroom of Judge William Cox.

What was the verdict in the Mississippi case?

The convictions in the case represented the first ever convictions in Mississippi for the killing of a civil rights worker. The New York Times called the verdict "a measure of the quiet revolution that is taking place in southern attitudes.". On December 29, Judge Cox imposed sentences.

What was the defense case in the case of the 'Reputation for Truth and Veracity'?

The defense case consisted of a series of alibi and character witnesses. Local residents testified as to the "reputation for truth and veracity" of various defendants, or to having seen them on June 21 at locations such as funeral homes or hospitals.

How did Cecil Price die?

On May 6, 2001, three days after falling from a lift in an equipment rental store, Cecil Price died of head injuries. Price's death was seen by Attorney General Moore as a huge setback to the ongoing investigation of the 1964 case: "If he had been a defendant, he would have been a principal defendant.

What does Attorney General Hood say about the murders?

For his part, Attorney General Hood says he believes the state has done everything "that could possibly be done" in this case. He released an FBI report on the murders which addresses the two remaining suspects and explains that they had unsuccessful charges brought against them before.

What did Hood say about closing the investigation?

Closing the investigation, Hood said, "sort of closes the chapter on an era that we didn't want to have in public view. We were ashamed of that."

How long did it take to find the bodies of the men in the Mississippi case?

Their bodies were discovered after a 44-day search that garnered widespread national attention. But while the men were missing, Mississippi officials downplayed the significance of the case. "At the time Mississippi officials were calling it a hoax devised to garner sympathy for the civil rights movement," Debbie says.

Who killed the Freedom Summer activists?

Officials Close Investigation Into 1964 'Mississippi Burning' Killings : The Two-Way Three young Freedom Summer activists were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan 52 years ago. At the time, no one was charged with murder, but since the case was reopened one man has been prosecuted.

Who is the Klan leader who was convicted of murder?

Decades later, the state reopened the case and prosecuted one man for murder — Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen, aka Preacher Killen. Now 91, Killen is serving a 60-year sentence for manslaughter. In the 11 years since Killen was convicted, no other suspect has been brought to court.

Did the KKK prosecute anyone for murder?

In the years that followed, the state did not prosecute anyone for murder. A few men served a handful of years in prison on federal civil rights charges, but otherwise, the KKK mob that killed Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner escaped legal consequences.

Is the Hood case closed?

On Monday, Hood announced that the case was going to be closed — again. Hood says more prosecutions are unlikely at this point. There are a number of reasons for that, according to Debbie, who has covered the case for years. She reports that:

Why was Jim Hood in jail?

Once a fixture in Orange County social circles, millionaire Newport Beach developer Jim Hood was denounced Friday as a threat to society and ordered to spend 29 years to life in prison for shooting a man authorities believe Hood hired to kill his wife. In a case that involved greed, illicit sex and murder, Hood was convicted in December ...

Who killed Bonnie Hood's wife?

Prosecutors believe Hood hired Beauchamp to kill his wife so he could collect on a $900,000 insurance policy, and then decided to silence the gunman. Bonnie Hood’s lover, who was with her at the time of the fatal attack, also was shot, but survived, and later testified that Beauchamp was the gunman.

Why did Hood shoot Beauchamp?

He said he shot Beauchamp when the former employee stormed into his office and reached behind his back, as if for a weapon. Fearing for his life, he fired, Hood testified.

How many times did Hood shoot Beauchamp?

Throughout two trials, Hood protested his innocence and said he shot Beauchamp seven times in self defense. Beauchamp was the key suspect in the still-unsolved slaying of Hood’s wife, Bonnie, who was shot to death in her Sierra Nevada lodge in Tulare County in August, 1990.

Why was the second trial so difficult?

In some ways, the second trial proved more difficult for the prosecution because the judge barred Whitney from discussing Bonnie Hood’s murder. As a result, the prosecution was forced to rely solely on evidence at the shooting scene, including blood splatters and palm prints.

What did the jurors from the first trial testify to?

In an unusual move, jurors from the first trial were called to testify to the contradictions for the second jury.

How old was Hood's daughter when she testified?

The jurors even made less-than-polite comparisons between the two defense attorneys’ legal styles and talked about how attractive Hood’s 19-year-old daughter appeared when she testified.

How many men were indicted in the 1967 Mississippi case?

Nineteen men were indicted on federal charges in the 1967 case. Seven were convicted of violating the victims' civil rights. None served more than six years. In 2004, the Mississippi Attorney General's office reopened the investigation.

Who ordered the FBI to search for the missing men?

President Lyndon Johnson ordered the FBI to assist local law enforcement officers in the search for the missing men. 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." Civil rights colleagues worried they had been nabbed by the KKK. Mississippi's then-governor claimed their disappearance was a hoax, and segregationist Sen. Jim Eastland told President Johnson it was a "publicity stunt."

What are the records of the slain victims?

The records include case files, Federal Bureau of Investigation memoranda, research notes and federal informant reports and witness testimonies. There are also photographs of the exhumation of the victims' bodies and subsequent autopsies, along with aerial photographs of the burial site, according to an announcement from ...

When did the Civil Rights Workers of Mississippi open their records?

On June 21, 1964, civil rights workers Andrew... 03:40. 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.

Where were Freedom Summer workers arrested?

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. A deputy sheriff in Philadelphia had arrested them on a traffic charge, then released them after alerting a mob.

When did Killen die?

Killen died in prison in 2018. Mississippi then-Attorney General Jim Hood officially closed the investigation in 2016.

Why was Sessions rejected for a judgeship?

In 1986, Session’s nomination for a federal judgeship was rejected after one of his former subordinates, Thomas Figures, alleged that Sessions called him “boy,” made remarks disparaging civil-rights organizations, and made jokes about the KKK , even as his office was investigating the Donald lynching. Civil-rights groups have harshly criticized ...

What groups did Sessions lead?

Sessions’s record as a senator has led civil-rights groups, including the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Color of Change, to oppose his nomination and question whether he would fairly administer laws protecting against discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation.

When did Bennie Hays die?

Bennie Hays was later charged in connection with the murder, but he died in 1993 before he could be convicted. “Unless there’s a particular reason not to let a state go forward we normally let the state prosecute.”. Sessions has suggested that he played a major role in deciding that the case be tried in state court.

Who brought Hays and the Klan to justice?

Grant Bosse wrote in the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader wrote that “when local police wrote off the murder as a drug deal gone wrong, Sessions brought in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and brought Hays and the Klan to justice.”. Sessions himself recently listed the case as one of the “ten most significant significant ...

Was Bennie Hays the head of the KKK?

The jury convicted Hays and recommended life in prison, but the judge overturned the sentence and gave Hays the death penalty. Hays was not the head of the KKK in Alabama, as Sessions would later claim to National Review ––his father, Bennie Hays, was the second-highest-ranking Klansman.

Did Sessions win the Donald case?

Other defenders of Sessions have used the Donald case in similar ways. A letter from 23 former assistant attorney generals cited the fact that he had “worked to obtain the successful capital prosecution of the head of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan” as evidence of his “commitment to the rule of law, and to the even-handed administration of justice.” The Wall Street Journal said that Sessions, “won a death-penalty conviction for the head of the state KKK in a capital murder trial,” a case which “broke the Klan in the heart of dixie,” and The New York Post praised him for having “successfully prosecuted the head of the state Ku Klux Klan for murder.” Grant Bosse wrote in the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader wrote that “when local police wrote off the murder as a drug deal gone wrong, Sessions brought in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and brought Hays and the Klan to justice.”

When did Sessions say he was not urging Figures to drop the case?

Sessions’s statements to the Senate in 1986 about his supervisory role in the case are more modest than what he and his supporters say today, and while his testimony at the time generally did not directly contradict Figures’s account, Sessions insisted that he did not urge Figures to drop the case.

Who were the five people involved in the Emmett Till Act?

When we began our Emmett Till Act investigation, five of the individuals believed to have been involved were still alive: Killen (prosecuted in 2005), Richard Andrew Willis (died in July 2011), Olen Lovell Burrage (died in March 2013), __________________________________________________________ Department attorneys and FBI agents have (1) reviewed a massive number of relevant documents assembled over nearly fifty years (including elaborate FBI confidential source files and transcripts from two 1960s grand jury sessions); (2) examined voluminous records from the Mississippi investigation that led to the 2005 Killen prosecution; (3) interviewed all surviving, willing and competent, potential witnesses, often on multiple occasions; (4) sought voluntary information from subjects of the investigation; (5) evaluated and assessed several tangential allegations; (6) met with the victims’ families to seek their input; and, most significantly; (7) made extensive use of the full panoply of law enforcement investigative tools – non-prosecution agreements, covert activities, and other confidential investigative undertakings authorized by law but proscribed from public reporting, to include a federal § 1001 grand jury investigation.

Who arrested the three men in the Philadelphia church arson?

At about 3 p.m., Neshoba County Deputy and Klan member Cecil Ray Price, who shared the Klan’s antipathy for COFO, pulled the three men over during their return to Meridian through Philadelphia. Deputy Price recognized Schwerner and identified the station wagon as belonging to COFO. He arrested the three men and took them to the Philadelphia jail. He booked Chaney for speeding and held Schwerner and Goodman for investigation, ostensibly in connection with the church arson. Price contacted Edgar Ray Killen, a Philadelphia minister and Klan leader, and advised him that Schwerner and the two other civil rights volunteers were in custody.

Why did Killen seek help from the Meridian Klan?

[6] Killen sought help from Meridian because the Klan preferred to use non-local Klansmen to conduct acts of violence, minimizing the chance that a participant would be recognized by a victim or a witness.

Why did Chaney and Goodman get arrested?

He booked Chaney for speeding and held Schwerner and Goodman for investigation, ostensibly in connection with the church arson. Price contacted Edgar Ray Killen, a Philadelphia minister and Klan leader, and advised him that Schwerner and the two other civil rights volunteers were in custody.

What was the purpose of the Freedom Summer?

In the summer of 1964, promoted as “The Freedom Summer,” the Congress of Federated Organizations (COFO), one of the most active civil rights groups in Mississippi, planned a concentrated effort to register African Americans to vote. Michael Schwerner, a twenty-four-year-old former New York social worker, was an established civil rights organizer with COFO working in and around Meridian and Philadelphia. In 1964, Schwerner teamed up with James Chaney, a twenty-one-year-old African-American COFO volunteer from Meridian. Together with Schwerner’s wife, Rita, they established a community center and organizing headquarters in Meridian.

Where did the Civil Rights Volunteers go in 1964?

On Sunday morning, June 21, 1964, the three civil rights volunteers left Meridian to visit with the victims of the Klan church attack near Philadelphia. They drove a 1963 Ford station wagon with Mississippi tags registered to COFO. The men spent the early afternoon in Longdale, an African-American community outside of Philadelphia where the church’s parishioners lived. They spoke with various victims of the Klan attack and other members of the community.

How many defendants were indicted in the Mississippi case?

Thereafter, eighteen defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Mississippi on January 15, 1965, for violating Title 18 United States Code §§ 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights) and 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law).

Background

See more on en.wikipedia.org

The Conspiracy

Murders

Investigation and Public Attention

1967 Federal Trial

Further Research and 2005 Murder Trial

Legacy and Honors

in Culture

See Also

Further Reading