Medgar Evers Court Case

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MEDGAR EVERS CASE 1 On June 11, 1963 President John F, Kennedy gave a speech on civil rights. Medgar Evers wife and 3 children watched the speech in their home while Medgar, a civil rights activist and state field secretary for the NAACP, watched it at his office. Shortly after midnight on June 12th, Medgar arrived at his home in Jackson, MS, and got out of his car carrying shirts that said “Jim Crowe must go!” A gunman was hiding in the honeysuckle bushes near the Evers’ driveway. As the activist walked from his car to his house, the sniper opened fire, shooting Medgar Evers in the back. Medgar drug himself to the door step as his wife, Myrlie, and their children ran outside screaming. A neighbor shot into a bullet into the air in order to scare off the assassin as more neighbors ran to put Medgar in the car and bring him to the hospital. An hour later, Evers died at the hospital. Beckwith, a self proclaimed racist, was a member of the White Citizens’ Council and the Ku Klux Clan. Many Mississippians supported Beckwith. The White Citizens' Council provided him with an attorney and sixteen thousand dollars was raised for his defense. Beckwith was tried in front of an all white male jury. While Myrlie Evers testified, the former…show more content…
However, DeLaughter found the rifle at his in-laws house. DeLaughter’s father-in-law was Judge Moore, the presiding judge in the previous trials. A book, Klandestine, written by a former KKK member turned FBI informant, was found. It stated that Beckwith was the speaker at one of the KKK rallies and admitted to killing Evers. Delmar Dennis, the writer of the book, agreed to testify in exchange of protection. Myrlie Evers gave DeLaughter her certified copy of the court transcripts that she had been holding on to for 27 years by

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