Key suspect in 1964 Mississippi killings planning to appear at a fair
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 04:16PM
TheSpook
Visitors to next month's Mississippi State Fair may gawk
at their reflections in the Fun House, witness the Mississippi State
Championship Mule Pull or shake hands with the key suspect in the
Klan's 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. Learned lawyer
Richard Barrett, who heads the white supremacist organization known as
the Nationalist Movement, said Edgar Ray Killen has agreed to make an
appearance at his organization's booth in the Agricultural Building.
Barrett plans to gather signatures there in support of Killen, who is
under investigation but has never faced state murder charges in the
June 21, 1964, deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael
Schwerner. "He can possibly sign autographs and meet the crowd," said
Barrett, whose booth will be between those for the secretary of state's
office and the Mississippi Library Commission. Killen could not be
reached for comment. Killen was among 18 Mississippi men who went on
trial in 1967 on federal conspiracy charges. Testimony described Killen
as the Klan leader who coordinated the details of the killings that
night -- testimony Killen says is a lie because he's innocent.The
all-white jury convicted seven, but deadlocked 11-1 in favor of
Killen's guilt. Jurors say the lone holdout said she could "never
convict a preacher." [more ]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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