Emmett Till’s death is a heart-wrenching story etched in Black American history that has passed down from generation to generation. A young man in Mississippi kidnapped and murdered over a benign allegation that he signaled an attraction to a White woman in 1955.
The allegation the 14-year-old Till whistled at the woman was later refuted, but decades after his tragic death and murder investigation, an arrest warrant for the woman accused of fabricating the allegation has turned up. And worst of all, authorities never attempted to serve the warrant.
Till was brutally beaten and fatally shot after he was kidnapped from his bed. His body was dumped in a river where two people fishing found him.
The woman’s husband and another man were acquitted of murder, but reportedly confessed to the crime in a magazine after the trial ended.
The woman accused of saying Till whistled at her is reportedly still alive and resides in North Carolina.
The warrant for her arrest was reportedly discovered last week within a file folder that was placed in an unidentified box, according to a county official in Mississippi.
Experts say the arrest warrant probably cannot be served because most statutes would not allow it since so much time has passed, however if new evidence in the reopened investigation implicates the woman, she could possibly be arrested and charged. It will largely depend on the sheriff’s in two states as well as prosecutors.
More about Emmett Till can be found here and the warrant can be found here.
Opinion: This document known as a warrant is a piece of history that should be preserved. The heartbreaking story of Emmett Till’s life and death is as relevant now as it was in 1955. His death and subsequent murder investigation are a shameful example of injustice Black Americans endured. Under no circumstances should violent, racially-based crimes be taken lightly. As a community, Blacks have to continue to say “no more Emmett Till’s.” The woman accused of contributing to the murder of Emmett Till should be arrested. It is a long overdue miscarriage of justice that has scarred the legacy of the American justice system. BNN will continue to follow this story.
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