The Justice Department Reopens Investigation Into the 1955 Murder of Emmett Till

The Federal Justice Department has reopened the case of #EmmettTill.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black boy who was gruesomely killed after being accused of flirting with or whistling at a white woman in Mississippi in 1955. Offended, the white woman lied to her then-husband claiming Till had forcibly grabbed her. The incident led to Till being brutally beaten and lynched. His body was found in a lake three days later. 

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Till’s infamous story helped spark the civil rights movement after his killers were acquitted in court. Tens of thousands of Blacks came to Till’s funeral in mourning. Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, decided to have an open casket so people could see the cruelty done unto her son; the image shocked millions worldwide. 

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On Thursday (July 12), the Justice Department said in a statement it would be reopening the case after “receiving new information” it did not detail. “Because it is an active investigation, the department cannot provide any additional information at this time,” the department said Thursday.

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It’s been 63 years since the horrific hate crime, which was listed in a March report among “activities” the department was pursuing under the 2007 unsolved civil rights crime act. 

The department is working to “expeditiously investigate” unsolved pre-1980 civil rights murders.