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Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers in 1994, 30 years after the fact
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On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers, 37, civil rights activist and field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi, was shot in the back while walking up to his house. His two small children witnessed his murder. In his arms were a pile of tee-shirts that said, “Jim Crow Must Go.” The gun that killed Evers was found with fingerprints, and the suspect, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith, was swiftly arrested. Beckwith was tried twice in 1964, and in both trials the all-white juries remained deadlocked. After his release, Beckwith was reported to have bragged about the murder at a Klan rally. His life thereafter reveals a man clearly unbowed (in 1967, Beckwith ran for lieutenant governor of Mississippi, placing fifth among the six candidates) and entrenched in violence (in 1973, he was sentenced to a five-year prison term for possession of dynamite). In 1990, a series of investigative reports in Jackson’s Clarion-Ledger, a committed prosecutor, and the indefatigability of Evers’s widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, produced new evidence. The case was reopened, and four years later, Beckwith was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He died in Jan. 2001 at age 90.
Next: Birmingham Church Bombing Introduction: Justice Overdue
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Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers in 1994, 30 years after the fact
On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers, 37, civil rights activist and field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi, was shot in the back while walking up to his house. His two small children witnessed his murder. In his arms were a pile of tee-shirts that said, “Jim Crow Must Go.” The gun that killed Evers was found with fingerprints, and the suspect, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith, was swiftly arrested. Beckwith was tried twice in 1964, and in both trials the all-white juries remained deadlocked.
Related Links
- Black History Month
- Encyclopedia: Civil Rights
- For Kids: Civil Rights Heroes
- Martin Luther King Conspiracy Theories
- Black History Timeline
- Civil Rights Timeline
After his release, Beckwith was reported to have bragged about the murder at a Klan rally. His life thereafter reveals a man clearly unbowed (in 1967, Beckwith ran for lieutenant governor of Mississippi, placing fifth among the six candidates) and entrenched in violence (in 1973, he was sentenced to a five-year prison term for possession of dynamite).
In 1990, a series of investigative reports in Jackson’s Clarion-Ledger, a committed prosecutor, and the indefatigability of Evers’s widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, produced new evidence. The case was reopened, and four years later, Beckwith was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He died in Jan. 2001 at age 90.
Next: Birmingham Church Bombing Introduction: Justice Overdue
More from Black History Month
Next: Birmingham Church Bombing
Introduction: Justice Overdue
.com/spot/bhmjustice2.html
Sources +
Our Common Sources
Our Common Sources
Birmingham Church Bombing
- Birmingham Church Bombing
TrendingHere are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Current Events This Week: January 2023
African Americans by the Numbers
Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
TrendingHere are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Current Events This Week: January 2023
African Americans by the Numbers
Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
- Did Birds Evolve from Dinosaurs?
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses
- Current Events This Week: January 2023
- African Americans by the Numbers
- Andersen’s Fairy Tales: Contents
- The Celtic Twilight: A Teller of Tales
