Emmett Till’s Cousin Files A Lawsuit To Have His Accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Served With The Uncovered 1955 Arrest Warrant

Emmett Till’s cousin files a lawsuit against Mississippi’s sheriff with hopes of having the white woman responsible for his kidnapping arrested.

On Tuesday, Till’s cousin Patricia Sterling submitted a lawsuit against Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks. The suit requests Banks serve a 1955 warrant to Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman who is responsible for Till’s murder.

“We are using the available means at our disposal to try to achieve Justice on behalf on the Till family,” Sterling’s attorney, Trent Walker, said.

Last year, a 1955 arrest warrant for Donham’s arrest was found inside of a courthouse basement. However, officials claimed they could not serve Donham with the warrant because 67 years had already passed since the warrant was issued.

If you’re not aware, Till was accused of making inappropriate comments and whistling at Donham in the segregated south in 1955. Donham’s claims led to Till being kidnapped and brutal lynched by her husband Roy Bryant and his brother J.W. Milam. The men stood trial for the crime but was later acquitted on the charges.

Last year, Donham unpublished memoir made headlines after she claimed she had a “small role” in the murder.

“I did not wish Emmett any harm and could not stop harm from coming to him, since I didn’t know what was planned for him,” Donham wrote. “I tried to protect him by telling Roy that he’s not the one. That’s not him. Please take him home.”

Nevertheless, Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal which is the highest civilian award. A year later, officials approved the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act in his remembrance.