Ghosts of Mississippi Page #3

I've passed this way before.

Let's just say I've adopted

an attitude of tempered optimism.

DeLaughter, hear the news?

President Lincoln just got shot.

Some guy named Booth did it.

The Sovereignty Commission, a state

agency, worked against the D.A...

...to ensure the jury had Beckwith

sympathizers to keep him out of jail.

That's grounds for a new trial.

With all due respect...

...those old files have been

leaking out for years.

They only ran background checks which,

while unethical, was not illegal.

We can't prove jury tampering.

I'd like you to meet Bob DeLaughter.

How do you do?

-Pleasure.

-Mr. Morris Dees...

...the Southern Poverty Law Center.

-How you doing?

-I was explaining...

...that in order for us

to pursue this...

...we'll need more

than an article in a newspaper.

We'll need new evidence.

In 1964, you had

a mountain of evidence.

All you gotta do is retry Beckwith.

On the basis of that alone,

you'll get a conviction.

As you can see, the mountain

has crumbled a bit.

What's this?

That's all that's left of the

state's case against De La Beckwith.

Just a few pages

of the old police report.

-Where's the gun? Where--

-Where's the bullet?

Where's the original trial transcript?

Where are the files? Beats me.

Are you telling us it is lost?

I'm telling you, we don't have it.

Well, that's outrageous.

Even if we had the evidence,

we'd never get around...

...to the Sixth Amendment right

to a speedy trial.

Mr. Dees would agree that 25 years

isn't exactly what you'd call speedy.

May I see that?

Mrs. Evers, this is

pretty strong stuff.

I'd like to see it.

"June 13, 1963.

To the Jackson Police Department:

When you catch whoever killed

the n*gger, pin a medal on him...

...because he just did Mississippi

one hell of a favor.

June 14, 1963.

A female who refused

to identify herself stated...

...that she'd heard a rumor

that Medgar Evers' wife...

...had gotten jealous of Lena Horne,

who appeared with Evers at a rally...

...and might have gotten

her brother-in-law to kill Evers."

Who wouldn't be jealous of Lena Horne?

What a beautiful woman.

Y es, ma'am.

The cops wrote that garbage down

because they actually took it seriously.

Mr. Dees.

Do you think the police in Washington,

D.C. would have written it up...

...if some nitwit said Jackie Kennedy

had a hand in J.F.K.'s death...

...because her husband ran around

with Marilyn Monroe?

What's your point?

The murder of Medgar Evers

was a race crime...

...a political crime.

An assassination.

Beckwith is free today...

...thanks to a racist jury,

a racist police department...

...and a racist D.A.'s office.

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