U.S. versus Cecil Price et al., 1967

U.S. Vs. Cecil Price

In 1964 three people were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Longdale, Mississippi. The trial that followed the discovery of the three dead bodies represented a crucial milestone in the fight for civil rights. Medical investigations later confirmed the fact that the corpses were those of three men who had been reported missing in the area, James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, well-known activists preaching equal rights. This was in fact the first trial which resulted in the first convictions in a civil rights case in the state of Mississippi considered the most segregated and resistant to racial integration.

The Ku Klux Klan was widely accepted in the South. This can be explained by looking at the institution of slavery which was based on racial division in society. The defeat of the South and consequently, the abolition of slavery were still considered unjust by a large part of the Southern population which identified with the concept of slavery. Former slave owners were now living side by side with their ex-slaves which also contributed to the rise of extreme racist groups; the most prominent was without a doubt the Ku Klux Klan. The three murders had been predicted due to the rage and hatred that had accumulated in the local community as a result of the Mississippi Summer Project which aimed at gathering hundreds of students in support of civil rights. The first target that was established by the Klan was Michael Schwerner, the first white activist based outside of Jackson who organized boycotts of white-owned businesses and militated for the African-Americans' right to vote.

The first attempt of the Klan to murder Schwerner was on June 16, 1964 when the latter was supposed to visit a black congregation to ask for their permission to use the church as the site of a "Freedom School" whose purpose was to end political disenfranchisement of the African-American population of the South. Outside the church, thirty Klan members had gathered with rifles looking for Schwerner but did not manage to find him because he was in Ohio participating in a conference. Instead, they beat members of the congregation and spread gasoline inside the church and eventually burned it down. As soon as they heard about the beatings, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner went to Neshoba County, Mississippi to inspect the site of the burnt church and to talk to local fellow activists. The three activists were not murdered by local authorities although their hatred of civil rights movement was well-known throughout the country. In fact, both the sheriff - Lawrence Rainey - and sheriff deputy - Cecil Price - were Klan members. Nonetheless, they were imprisoned for an alleged involvement in the church arson; during the time spent in jail they were denied their rights and subjected to foul treatment. They were released only to be followed on the highway and shot dead.

Attorney General Robert Kennedy who was informed of the disappearance of the three men, arranged for Joseph Sullivan of the FBI to go to Mississippi and investigate the situation together with FBI Meridian-based agent John Proctor. Their findings would be splendidly presented in Court by John Doar, who prosecuted the federal case. Local officials were not sympathetic with the case and showed little interest in finding the ones responsible for the murders. Nevertheless, federal interest in the case was overwhelming, thus the investigation was impressive and finally led to the discovery of the killers.