Posted on 06/16/2005 3:16:07 PM PDT by Steve Pope
KLAN MURDER TRIAL HALTED AFTER FIRST DAY
By Steve Pope
Philadelphia, Mississippi (June 16, 2005)The trial of the accused mastermind behind the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi was suddenly halted today when the defendant was rushed to the hospital.
After listening to the testimony of Rita Bender, wife of Michael "Mickey" Schwerner one of the three victims, the defendant Edgar Ray "Preacher" Killen was taken to a Neshoba County hospital after suffering from high blood pressure.
Killen, 80 who was out of the courtroom during Bender's testimony, but who could hear her testify from an adjacent room, recently suffered injuries from a fall while he was cutting down a tree. He is being assisted at the trial by a private nurse.
Killen’s sudden trip to the hospital calls into question whether the trial will continue. Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon recessed the trial until tomorrow so that Killen can be examined by doctors. Gordon said he would determine tomorrow after talking to Killen’s doctors whether the trial should resume or be delayed further.
Killen was one of the 18 original defendants who were tried in federal court in 1967 for violating the civil rights of the three victims James Cheney, and Schwerner. However, Killen was granted a mistrial by an all white jury when a female juror said that she could not convict a preacher.
Bender testified that she and Schwerner had lived in Mississippi in January of 1964 where they helped establish a community center and library for the black citizens of Meridian, Mississippi. She and Schwerner helped register black citizens to vote, Bender said during her testimony.
On June 21, 1964, Schwerner and the two other civil rights workers, James Chaney of Mississippi and Andrew Goodman who along with Schwerner were from New York, went back to Philadelphia Mississippi to apologize to the members the Mt. Zion Church, which was burned down allegedly by Klan members, as a result of the voter registration activities by the civil rights activist. Bender testified “I think he (Schwerner) and J.E. both felt a responsibility to the people who put themselves at risk. That's why they went back. You don't abandon people."
The three victims, were stopped for speeding by Neshoba County Deputy, Cecil Price, On June 21, 1964 after visiting the church, were jailed and released later that evening allegedly the hands of Klan members, which included Price, and were later shot and buried in a dam outside Philadelphia.
The burned out station wagon driven by the victims was found in a creek three days later. Bender testified that when hearing that the car had been found, she started to cry saying “We heard the car had been burned. That's when it hit me for the first time they were dead. I knew there was no realistic possibility they were alive.”
Killen is being prosecuted by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and District Attorney Mark Duncan. Cheney’s brother, Ben questioned if the evidence presented thus far by the prosecution is enough to convict Killen. However, long time Mississippi attorney Roy Parker, Sr. from Tupelo said that Hood is an “excellent attorney” and has no doubt that he will present the best case he can to obtain a conviction.
“I believe that Killen will receive a fair trial. I personally know Judge Gordon, I went to law school with him and I know he will be impartial in his rulings” Parker added. When asked if Gordon is likely to continue the trial despite Killen’s alleged illness, Parker said, “Gordon is a good judge and will follow the law in Mississippi. I doubt he will rely on just one doctor to come to a decision. He is a very fair judge.” Parker added “Most of the law abiding folks in Mississippi at the time didn’t believe in the Klan, we didn’t want them around.”
Killen has maintained for the past 41 years that he was not even at the scene where the victims were killed but was presiding over a funeral that evening. However, reports from FBI agents in 1964 who questioned some of those at the funeral, say that Killen was not at the funeral as he claims.
Several other alleged participants of the murder have since died in recent years, including Price who fell off a cherry picker near his home in Philadelphia.
The case was depicted in the fictional movie “Mississippi Burning” which came out in 1988.
The "I'm sickly" routine worked pretty well for Whacko Jacko here in Kalifornia...
Welcome to FreeRepublic.
Sorry, I meant to say:
Welcome to FreeRepublic. You signed up just to post this story. Why don't you tell us your thoughts.
Cat got your tongue? Why did you sign up and post this story today? You're not trolling for inflammatory statements, are you?
No I have followed this story for years and I want to make sure it gets reported in a fair manner is all. I hope he gets convicted as long as he receives a fair trial. I think my piece was fair and did not contain any of my personal opinions. What did u think of the article?
Assuming it's factually correct, I thought it was a good story and contained a good amount of background. Other than the two passive verbs in the lead paragraph, I thought it was pretty well written.
Also, I'm assuming that Ben Cheney is James Chaney's brother, which would make me think they probably spell their last name the same way.
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