Hype and Reality in the Emmett Till Case
As L and P readers know, I have long disputed these claims. Now, it increasingly appears that the final report by investigators will throw cold water on the hypesters. By all indications, the prosecutor's focus has narrowed almost entirely to Carolyn Bryant, the wife of one of the accused killers. Even prosecution of Bryant (in my view) is unlikely.
Here is what I had to say in the Jackson Clarion Ledger about the latest developments:
University of Alabama history professor David Beito has researched the Till case exhaustively with his wife, Linda Royster Beito, a Stillman College professor.
Building a case against Carolyn Bryant after five decades is difficult, he said."You have nobody to show her involvement, except the statement from Mose Wright. That's about all you've got."
In her recent interview with the FBI, she denied being present when Milam and Bryant kidnapped Till.
Beito said there has been a lot of claims about the case that don't mesh with the facts he found.
For instance, some have suggested more than a dozen people were involved in Till's killing and that"seven or more of them are still alive," he said.
It is true a number of people beyond Bryant and Milam were involved in the killing, he said. For instance, Willie Reed testified he saw three white men and two black men in the truck with Till the morning of the killing.
Beito said Reed identified the two black men, who now are dead, and Milam. Some have speculated the other two white men were Bryant and Leslie Milam, who managed a plantation and is now deceased.
Beito said he's anxious for the FBI's exhaustive report on the investigation to be made public in order to disprove false claims.