Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of manslaughter today for the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers in Mississippi almost 41 years to the day of their disappearance. The three “Freedom Summer” workers, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Earl Chaney, were missing for 44 days before being found in an earthen dam. They had been shot and beaten. Killen faces up to 20 years for each manslaughter count.
The State Of . . Racial Justice. Has it improved because of this verdict. Some Killen defenders argued that no good can come from “opening old wounds” especially wounds that had healed. However, if these wounds had really healed, would there be such ire an emotion surrounding this trial? Would we still dig Emmett Till’s body up for evidence in a future trial if the wounds were healed? Despite the common adage, time does not heal all wounds.
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