Thread: Forty-one years to the day -Off topic but On TIME

Ex-KKK Member Convicted in 1964 Killings By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com


Forty-one years to the day after three civil rights workers were beaten and shot to death, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman was found guilty of manslaughter Tuesday in a trial that marked Mississippi's latest attempt to atone for its bloodstained, racist past.

The jury of nine whites and three blacks took nearly six hours to clear Edgar Ray Killen of murder but convict him of the lesser charges in the 1964 killings that galvanized the struggle for equality and helped bring about passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Killen, a bald figure with owlish bifocals, sat impassively in his wheelchair, an oxygen tube up his nose, as he listened to the verdict.

"Forty-one years after the tragic murders ... justice finally arrives in Philadelphia, Miss," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (news, bio, voting record), Mississippi's only black congressman. "Yet, the state of Mississippi must see to it that the wrongs of yesterday do not become the albatrosses of today."

The murder charge carried up to life in prison. But Killen could still spend the rest of his life behind bars; each of the three manslaughter charges is punishable by up to 20 years. Judge Marcus Gordon scheduled sentencing for Thursday.

Civil rights volunteers [color=orange]Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner â€â€

I've waited for that man to get his too, Sixx! Praise the Lord and pass the Lemonade!! I was shouting Hallelujah when I heard them say GUILTY!!!

It took a long time, but he FINALLY, FINALLY GOT HIS!!!!!

I hope they give him the death penalty and bury him in the same grave he buried those poor boys in, that shameful bigot.

Forty one years -- and about time!!!

Hallelujah alright! But I looked at his face while they read the verdict, and this man just doesn't get it. He acted impatient, and didn't look a bit like he was sorry for anything.
Maybe somehow, the victims families can feel some justice was served.

IMHO, he doesn't get it. He doesn't think he did one thing wrong. He is just as big a bigot now as he was then. He's probably the kind of man that would not let a black doctor or nurse help him. Or the type that would not let someone put "black blood" in him for a transfusion if he knew it was from a black person -- or an Hispanic person either.

There are stupid people like that in our Country still. I can't believe it but there are. I believe that he should be given the same treatment he gave to them as the sentence for his dispicible crimes. In the exact same way.

He doesn't understand why he was found guilty because he doesn't think he did anything wrong. Sad, so very very sad.

Americans need to put the events of the 1960's and prior behind us and work together against a common enemy - illegal immigration and all the other problems affecting the US of 2005 - high taxes, the need for affordable housing, healthcare, crime, etc.

Yeah, im glad justice was finally served and its horrible it took this long for it to happen. Thats what happens when you have "the good ol boy" system and I know it still affects many law enforcement agencies and judical agencies to this day. For example, the next county over is one of I think only a dozen counties in the US that still have their sheriff appointed by the county executive. I belive all New York state judges are appointed (not 100% sure if this is still the case though).

Americans need to put the events of the 1960's and prior behind us and work together against a common enemy - illegal immigration and all the other problems affecting the US of 2005 - high taxes, the need for affordable housing, healthcare, crime, etc.

Putting all this behind us would make it very easy to ignore the happenings of today, my friend. Why do you think the events of the 60's were allowed to happen? If the people THEN were proactive in their approach to racism, this abomination never could have happened.

We need to REMEMBER. We MUST NEVER FORGET or the past WILL repeat itself -- just with for a different reason.

WHY DO YOU THINK WE ARE SO WILLINGLY FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL ALIENS NOW?

As someone once said, if you remember the 60's you weren't there.

I believe if you forget what happened to innocent victims of the 60's, you do not care what happens to our Nation NOW.

The 60's is why we are so driven to stop this illegal alien madness NOW!!!

So don't tell us to forget the 60's or to get over it. The wound is raw. The feelings run deeply. The injustices done need to be paid for just as the illegal aliens need to pay now. There is NO DIFFERENCE!!! PERIOD.

If you cannot see that, you have blinders on your eyes and need to read up on your US History.

I for one am glad to see the long awaited justice served. he is supposed to rot the rest of his pathetic life in jail.