(Mississippi)Man Held in Killings of 3 Is Freed on Bail

The New York Times
January 13, 2005
Man Held in Killings of 3 Is Freed on Bail
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA, Miss., Jan. 12 (AP) - The man indicted last week in the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers was freed on Wednesday on $250,000 bail.

Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon set a March 28 trial date for the defendant, Edgar Ray Killen, who was arrested for one of the most notorious crimes of the civil rights era.

Mr. Killen, who left jail with family members, was arrested last week, the first person to be charged with murder by the State of Mississippi in the killings that focused national attention on the civil rights struggle in the South.

James Chaney, a 21-year-old black Mississippian, and two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24, were ambushed, beaten and shot.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/national/13mississippi.html?oref=login

This is some fucked up shit right here. Why did he have bail at all might have been a better question.

Bail from being set beyond what a person can come up with. The amount, although somewhat small, is not unusal when bail is granted for murder, etc. Also, the judge has to face election...

One other item to remember, I live in a fairly wealthy area of the state -- and a 4,500 sq foot mansion less than 5 years old on a golf course sells for about 250-300k, so 250k is a much larger amount than it might be in CA or NY.

He has been free way too long already..WTF?

If he's guilty, he should fry IMHO. However, in the eyes of the court, he is innocent. According to the US Constitution, bail must be reasonable -- Mississippi courts interpret this a bit differently than others, but I don't disagree with the sentiment.

The idea of bail is to assure the appearance of someone in court -- is this sufficient?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/national/13mississippi.html?oref=login

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Prosecutors have refused to detail the evidence against Mr. Killen in the new case. Evidence in the federal case showed that Mr. Killen, a reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan, was said to have organized the carloads of Klansmen who hunted down the three civil rights workers.

District Attorney Mark Duncan did not oppose the bail because he would have had to demonstrate an overwhelming presumption of guilt and show that Mr. Killen, who is 79, might flee or pose a danger to the community.

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Sounds like the DA is possibly protecting witnesses.