Ghosts of Mississippi
On the night of June 13th 1963, President John F. Kennedy was giving his speech on Civil Rights. Among the many thousands of people in America viewing this event on National Television were Myrlie Evers and her three children. Suddenly, this occurrence was rudely disrupted by the deathly sound of a loud gunshot. Frantically running to their driveway, Myrlie and the kids found Medgar Evers shot in the back and lying in a pool of blood gasping for his last breath. Myrlie clung on to her husband's body as she and the children wept for this man's life. Almost thirty years later, the man charged with this murder would be tried again in a court of law, in front of a different jury of eight blacks and four whites. Justice was going to be served in the state of Mississippi no matter how long it was going to take. This murder case was tried in the racist state of Mississippi in the racist period of 1963. The judge was also a racist white man by the name of Moore and the jury consisted of twelve men. All white. Much evidence was presented to the court, such as the gun used to kill Medgar Evers consisting of fingerprints belonging to the convicted, Byron de la Beckwith. Byron and his vehicle were also spotted at the parking lot
With many white men against Bobby Delaughter, he experiences many threats as well and got a bomb threat on his house one night in January 1994. The first trial took place a couple of days later and Myrlie was the first witness to take the stand. She retells her experience and is saddened by the painful memories. During the second trial, many more witnesses, including the two white males who falsely testified to seeing Beckwith in Greenwood, 90-95 miles away, at a gas station on the night of the murder. When the jury finally came back in from an extremely long discussion or argument rather, the verdict was presented. Byron de la Beckwith was finally found guilty of the crime he most definitely committed on June 13th, 1963. Justice was served! Bobby Delaughter was the amazing lawyer in Mississippi who prosecuted Beckwith again over 25 years later. Not only did he risk his life in doing this, but he also lost his wife who disapproved of him taking this case. Her father was the judge who was present during the Medgar Evers case in 1963, and she believed that Bobby would be disgracing her family and herself in doing this. Bobby visited the old Evers home a few times and was deeply affected, for he also had three young children and was 37 years old, the age when Medgar died. He knew he had to take this case and he did all he could to find evidence and old witnesses. Not only did he find the exact murder weapon used to kill Evers, but he also won the case when Beckwith was found guilty. On November 1994, a few months after the verdict, Delaughter ran for the judge of Mississippi Court of Appeals but was defeated. He remains with the Llinds County District Attorney's office. This powerful movie or historical event rather, truly affects us now even though it took place in 1963 and 1994. We must look at this situation and realize the wrongdoing and the hatred that filled the people's hearts during that time. It is important that we do not repeat such a terrible event in history and respect everyone no matter what race, ethnicity, background, or religion. This should definitely open our eyes and awaken us to keep justice in our coun
Some common words found in the essay are:
Medgar Evers, Bobby Delaughter, Myrlie Evers, Mississippi NAACP, Beckwith Greenwood, Judge Moore, Holly Cresswell, Ironically Byron, Klandestine Beckwith, Judge Moore's, de la beckwith, de la, la beckwith, byron de la, byron de, medgar evers, myrlie evers, bobby delaughter, found guilty, hung jury, civil rights, 13th 1963, june 13th 1963, greenwood 90-95 miles, night june 13th,
Approximate Word count = 1454
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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