Re-Opening the Emmett Till Case ...

The Justice Department announced today that it is re-opening the investigation into the death of Emmett Till in 1955. There is no doubt about the historical importance of the case and no reason to believe that justice was done when the case was tried. Two defendants were acquitted and subsequently acknowledged their guilt. There is also good reason to believe that others may have been implicated in Emmett Till's death, but David and Linda Royster Beito recently looked at evidence of there being additional participants in the murder of Emmett Till for HNN and NYAge only to conclude that there probably is insufficient surviving evidence to bring charges against anyone. If I'm not mistaken, another complicating factor is that there is no surviving copy of the original trial transcript. The Justice Department's announcement seems unlikely to be more than a symbolic gesture. Sometimes, symbolic gestures are important. I don't expect this one to go anywhere.