On This Day in 1955: Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam Acquitted in Emmett Till Murder Trial

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J.W. Milam, left, and Roy Bryant, right, sit with their wives in a courtroom in Sumner, Mississippi, on Sept. 23, 1955, before the fifth day of their murder trial in the killing of 14-year-old Emmett Till. An all-white jury acquitted Bryant and Milam later that day. (AP Photo)
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(AURN News) — On Sept. 23, 1955, an all-white jury in Mississippi acquitted Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam of murdering 14-year-old Emmett Till.

In this undated photo 14-year-old Emmett L.Till from Chicago, is shown. Former President Joe Biden signed a proclamation on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, that establishes a national monument honoring Emmett Till, whose abduction, torture and killing in Mississippi in 1955 helped propel the civil rights movement.(AP Photo, File)

Till, a Black teenager from Chicago, had been abducted, brutally beaten, shot and dumped in the Tallahatchie River after being accused of offending a white woman.

Despite eyewitness testimony from Till’s great-uncle, Moses Wright, who courageously identified Bryant and Milam in open court, the jury deliberated for only 67 minutes before returning not guilty verdicts.

One juror later joked that the decision would have come faster if they had not stopped for a drink.

Just four months later, on Jan. 24, 1956, Look magazine published an article in which Bryant and Milam admitted to killing Till. Protected by double jeopardy, Bryant and Milam could not be tried again for Till’s murder.

The case became a defining symbol of racial terror in the Jim Crow and segregated South.

Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane
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