-Caveat Lector- > http://wire.ap.org/APnews/main.html?SLUG=BECKWITH%2dDEATH > > JANUARY 22, 01:33 EST > > Assassin of Medgar Evers Dies > > JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Byron De La Beckwith, convicted assassin of > civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, died Sunday night after he > was transferred from his jail cell to a hospital. He was 80. > > Barbara Austin, a hospital spokeswoman, said Beckwith entered > University Medical Center at 2:07 p.m. CDT. She could not elaborate on > his ailment or the cause of death. > > ``It's a matter for the coroner's office to determine,'' she said. > > Evers, a 37-year-old NAACP field secretary who pushed for an end to > segregation, had stepped out of his Oldsmobile when he was shot in the > back on June 12, 1963. He was walking to his house with an armful of > ``Jim Crow Must Go'' T-shirts. > > Beckwith was convicted at a third trial in 1994 after two mistrials > three decades earlier. After his conviction, he was sentenced to life > imprisonment. > > His fingerprint was found on a deer rifle used to kill Evers. It was > abandoned in the lot across the street. But the former fertilizer > salesman insisted he was 90 miles away in Greenwood when Evers was > murdered. > > Two all-white juries deadlocked in trials in 1964. Twelve years ago, > Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers Williams, asked for the case to be > reopened, and Hinds County District Attorney Bobby DeLaughter agreed. > > ``At the very beginning ... we didn't have anything,'' DeLaughter > said. ``The DA's file was nowhere to be found. We did not have the > benefit of a trial transcript to know who the witnesses were. None of > the evidence had been retained by the court.'' > > But DeLaughter and his officers stumbled across new evidence, > including negatives from the crime scene and new witnesses who > testified Beckwith had bragged to them ``about beating the system.'' > > Beckwith was arrested Dec. 17, 1990, and when he stood in front of a > new jury in 1994, he was 74 years old. > > His prosecutors were armed with new evidence and a 127-page document > claiming 21 errors were made in Beckwith's original trial. Also, eight > of the 12 jurors were black. > > Beckwith, a white supremacist, wore a Confederate flag pin on his > lapel throughout the 15 days of jury selection, testimony and > deliberation. > > He was found guilty of murder and the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld > the decision in 1997. > > Beckwith is survived by his wife and a son. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
