Indictment In Landmark Civil Rights Slay(1965 Selma, AL)

Source: CBS News/AP

A 73-year-old retired state trooper was indicted Wednesday in the 1965 shooting death of a black man, a killing that set in motion the historic civil rights protests in Selma and led to passage of the Voting Rights Act.

District Attorney Michael Jackson said a grand jury returned an indictment in the case. He would not identify the person charged or specify the offense until the indictment is served, which could take a few days. But a lawyer for former Trooper James Bonard Fowler said he had been informed that the retired lawman had been charged.

It took the grand jury only two hours to return the indictment in the slaying of 26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was shot by Fowler during a civil rights protest that turned into a club-swinging melee.

The case was little-known as a civil rights-era cold case, but it has had major historical consequences.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/09/national/main2779979.shtml

It only took 42 years.

hope justice prevails

It may swing slow...but it still swings...and fights for those who lost their lives.

and if anyone would like a more personal reflection on the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson, you might want to read this diary I wrote over on kos about the history of the case and my visit to the area and his grave.

Good background to the reason for the Selma marches.

Jimmy Lee Jackson should be mourned just as much as MLK.

I went to Charleston to visit where my dad grew up....

And he pointed out the Cotton fields where they picked cotton...they were huge fields....they started as children..

We went to visit the church where our family still has preachers....and the church was at least 5 miles from where they lived....they walked to church....

It was very humbling...and made me appreciate all of the wonderful things in my life.

Wishful thinking, I know.

But we know who they are.

The evidence is there, enough people just need to look at it.

n/t

:kick: