by Matt Saldaña

Shuffl ing behind a young black woman in an identical Dee, who had just returned from living in , orange jumpsuit, James Ford Seale entered the fourth- was involved in civil rights activity in the area. fl oor courtroom of the James O. Eastland Federal Five days later, in a packed courtroom on a lower Building in Jackson on Feb. 22 with shackles hanging SALDAÑA MATT level of the Eastland Building, U.S. Magistrate Judge loosely around his waist and ankles, and his hands Linda Anderson denied bond to Seale, stating, “Nei- cuffed in front of him. The 71-year-old retired crop- ther the weight of the crime nor its circumstances have duster from Roxie, Miss., wore thin wire glasses, orange been diminished by the passage of time.” sandals and thick white socks. The words “Madison It had been 42 years and eight months since Dee County Jail” were printed across his slight, but well- and Moore died, the longest wait for a case to be suc- postured back. He stood no taller than 5’8” and looked cessfully tried in a civil rights era killing. to weigh about 125 pounds, but he showed traces of his Dunn Lampton, the U.S. attorney who re-opened muscular past with a thick neck that recalled his open- the case against Seale in 2005, now sat 50 feet from the collared mug shot from 1964—the year he was arrested defendant, along with his legal team from the Civil and released weeks later for the murders of two black Rights Division of the Department of Justice: Special teenagers in Franklin County. Litigation Counsel Paige Fitzgerald and Trial Attorney As a U.S. marshal led him to a seat next to his Eric Gibson. One day after the grand jury indictments, lawyers, Seale smiled at his wife, Jean Seale, who sat Lampton stood alongside U.S. Attorney General in the front row on the defense’s side of the court. Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Bob Mueller in One of his stepsons-in-law arrived late, scanning the Washington, D.C., to announce the charges. As he half-empty room with his buzzed head held high as he Reputed Klansman James Ford Seale left his did then, on Jan. 25, 2007, he let his colleagues do the placed his arm around Seale’s stepdaughter, a blonde bond hearing on Jan. 29, 2007, in shackles. talking in the courtroom. Fitzgerald, the quick-lipped, woman in high heels who blew bubbles with her gum. short-cropped lawyer of blonde hair and dark suits, Other than fl ashes of eye contact with his family, Seale One month earlier, on Jan. 24, 2007, a federal emerged early as the voice of the prosecution. sat upright and still. At one point, he turned to stare at jury had indicted Seale for two counts of kidnapping Sitting next to Seale in identical black leather a large security camera behind a glass plane, high in the and one count of conspiracy leading to the deaths of chairs were his lawyers: Public Defender Kathy Nester back corner of the courtroom. Charles Moore and Henry Dee, the 19-year-olds beat- and Federal Public Defender Dennis Joiner. They When U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate—the en by members of the in the Homochit- urged Wingate to reverse Anderson’s bond ruling and court’s black-robed, baritone-pitched voice of author- to National Forest and then drowned in a backwater of throw the case out due to the statute of limitations. ity—granted the defense a 15-minute recess to review the Mississippi River in 1964. The prosecutors believe Joiner, a stout, ruddy-faced veteran of the public case history, Seale sat still and looked at the ground. that Seale chose Dee and Moore because they thought defender’s offi ce, stumbled when Wingate pressed him The Road to Justice: A Timeline

May 2, 1964 Nov. 6, 1964 sippi Highway Patrol investigators Charles July 9, 2005 Klansmen kidnap Charles Eddie Moore Mississippi highway patrolmen and Snodgrass and Gwyn Cole. He says he does A joint investigative effort in Meadville and Henry Hezekiah Dee, two African FBI agents arrest reputed Klansmen James not have “suffi cient evidence” to give the case by Thomas Moore (the brother of Charles American teenagers in Meadville, Miss., beat Ford Seale and Charles Marcus Edwards for to the grand jury. Forman says the defen- Moore), Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pro- them at gunpoint in a Mississippi national the Dee-Moore murders. Franklin County dants “had put out the story” that they were ducer , and and forest, and forcibly throw them into a back- Justice of the Peace Willie Bedford issued the “brutally mistreated”; therefore, he was sure a Kate Medley of the reveals water of the Mississippi River to die. arrest warrants. During the two-hour drive grand jury would not indict. that James Ford Seale is still alive. The Clari- to Jackson, FBI special agent Lenard Wolf on-Ledger and other media had reported that July 12, 1964 tells Seale, “We know you did it, you know Jan. 11, 1965 Seale was dead in 2001, presumably after his A fi sherman fi nds body parts in the Ole you did it, the Lord above knows you did it.” The district attorney fi les a “motion to family told them so. The case had been con- River and alerts authorities. The FBI believes Seale replies: “Yes, but I’m not going to admit dismiss affi davits” with Bedford, who signed sidered closed. they may be the bodies of three men killed it; you are going to have to prove it.” the motion the same day. June 21 by Klansmen in Neshoba County. July 13, 2005 But personal effects found in the pockets of Nov. 11, 1964 Jan. 14, 1966 Thomas Moore visits U.S. Attorney the pants on the torsos—the second one was Franklin County Sheriff Wayne Hutto Seale, along with 10 other reputed Dunn Lampton in Jackson and tells him found July 13—indicate that the bodies were notifi es the FBI that the men had been re- Klanmen, including his father and Seale was still alive and living in Roxie. those of Dee and Moore. leased on $5,000 bond each. Archie Prather brother, appears before the House Com- Lampton agrees to jumpstart the investiga- (Edwards’ father), Rosa Davis and Gene mittee on Un-American Activities in tion, which would last until January 2007. Oct. 30-31, 1964 Seale (Seale’s brother) paid the bond. Washington to be questioned about his Navy divers dredge up “a human skull, alleged crimes, including the abduction July 20, 2005 bones, two shirts, a Jeep engine block with a Jan. 5, 1965 and murders of Dee and Moore. He takes The JFP publishes “I Want Justice, chain attached and two pieces of railroad rail District Attorney Lenox Forman calls the 5th Amendment 41 times during Too,” a detailed narrative about Moore’s visit

May 24 - 30, 2007 and two small steel wheels tied together with a meeting with Sheriff Hutto, Assistant questioning. to Mississippi that reveals Seale is still alive. 14 a chain,” according to an FBI memo. Attorney General Garland Lyle, and Missis- The case, and the revelation about Seale, on the specifi cs of his motion to dis- Americans, Wingate and Anderson to ask jury candidates, specifi cally queries that sought miss. Citing U.S. v. Jackson, a 1968 might be biased against Seale. to profi le their racial opinions. During an earlier tele- ruling that removed the death pen- “Let’s just say that, if I were a pros- conference, Nester had expressed disdain for “shocking

alty as a punishment for kidnapping, SALDAÑA MATT ecutor in this case, I would pick Your questions related to race, interracial dating, interracial Joiner argued that kidnapping charges Honor even though you’ve served for rape and white-power groups.” stemming from the 1964 Dee-Moore 20 years without bias,” Joiner said. “It’s clear that the government wants to make this murders would have exceeded the The public defender then said, in case about race (and) racial issues, when at the end of statute of limitations in 1969. (Non- vague terms, that certain issues might the day, it’s a criminal case. To allow the government to capital crimes must be tried within affect Wingate in a certain way, and set the tone and create racial hysteria before the jurors fi ve years.) However, Joiner could not that these unique responses are the even step into the room, is to deny (Seale) a fair trial,” prove that the removal of the death reason law schools need diversity. Nester argued on April 12. penalty as a kidnapping penalty in “Maybe you’re dancing around “It was the defendant who inserted race into this 1968 changed its status as a capital some issues,” Wingate replied. “Does case,” Fitzgerald replied. crime, or that the 1968 ruling would the ‘diversity’ argument you made Fitzgerald argued that jury candidates would not Dennis Joiner apply retroactively to 1964. mean that you don’t want two judges respond honestly to the question, “Are you a racist?” “Kidnapping is typically recog- of minority status?” Instead, questions about their positions on racial issues nized as a capital offense,” Wingate said. “Race has nothing to do with it,” Joiner answered. would illicit more candid responses, she said. “I can’t argue with that,” Joiner replied. He said that by diversity he was referring to different The questionnaire, similar to one federal prosecu- Wingate appeared annoyed that Joiner used “ex- areas of law. tors have used in prosecuting seven other defendants, trapolation” to argue his case—the public defender pro- “Mr. Joiner, you’ve been in court for years, and including , for racially motivated duced only one case that applied directly, and he referred you’ve never made this argument before,” Wingate murders from the civil rights era, includes a question to cases not listed in the defense’s original briefi ng. said. “Your motion comes for the fi rst time in your fi ve about school integration. In the 2003 trial of Ernest “We continued to do research,” Joiner said in years as a public defender, and it only COURTESY JUDGE WINGATE Avants, for the 1966 murder of Ben defense of the incomplete briefi ng, before Wingate cut comes because the magistrate judge is Chester White in Natchez, 11 of 93 him off. Africa American, and the district judge jury candidates disagreed with school “Because of this, I will deny the motion to strike,” is African American.” integration, according to Fitzgerald, the judge said sternly. “This is the fi rst time that an who helped prosecute that trial. It would not be Wingate’s last admonishment of indictment was fi led in the Western “This court has an independent Joiner. Division (of the Southern District of obligation to use the tools it has so Mississippi) and mysteriously moved that, if prejudice exists, it will be found ‘Race Has Nothing to Do with It’ to Jackson,” Joiner said, apparently out,” she said. One month later, in one of the more dramatic abandoning the issue. Wingate agreed. “The process exchanges of the pretrial motion proceedings, Wingate “This court is not persuaded it will take longer, but both parties denied a motion from the defense to recuse himself and should recuse itself,” Wingate said in will have the opportunity to inquire U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson—apparently denying the motion. Judge Henry Wingate deeply into jurors’ minds and ensure fi led, in part, because both judges are African Ameri- a fair trial.” can. In the motion for recusal, Seale’s defense attorneys ‘The Defendant ... Inserted Race’ had complained about Wingate and Anderson’s prior During an April 12 hearing—two and a half ‘You Are Going to Have to Prove It’ employment—in Wingate’s case, 22 years ago—with months after Seale was incarcerated—Wingate heard On April 30, Wingate began the fi nal round the federal prosecutor’s offi ce. However, during the arguments for and against a detailed jury question- hearing, Joiner also seemed to hint that, as African naire. Defense lawyers had opposed detailed questions FACING JUSTICE, see p. 17

The Road to Justice: A Timeline, see page 17 starts to attract international attention. The publish. He writes in part: “Mary Lou, I horrible crime by trying this case through a Federal Public Defender Dennis Joiner ap- JFP subsequently publishes a series of stories, have the right to come to Franklin County, public trial—should serve as notice to those pears to imply that two black judges would both about the Dee-Moore case and other my home, and demand justice 41 years later who would violate the civil rights of their fel- be unjustly biased against Seale. civil-rights atrocities in the area, while CBC for the brutal murders of my brother Charles low citizens: We will pursue you as long as it returns to Meadville a number of times with Moore and my friend Henry Dee. I also have takes and as long as the law allows.” April 5, 2007 Moore to further investigate the case. the right to ask the rest of Franklin County, Wingate denies defense motion for a blacks and whites alike, to join me in my Jan. 29, 2007 change of venue due to “non-stop media July 28, 2005 quest for justice.” Seale appears in shackles and an orange attention.” Mary Lou Webb, editor of the Franklin jumpsuit for his bond hearing in Jackson. Advocate in Meadville and wife of the public- Jan. 24, 2007 U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson April 12, 2007 ity director of Americans for the Preservation A federal grand jury delivers three denies bond, citing the “violent” and “hor- Wingate approves prosecution’s motion of the White Race in 1964 (according to a indictments against Seale: two counts of rifi c” nature of the alleged crime and Seale’s for use of a jury questionnaire. Public De- document in the Mississippi Sovereignty kidnapping and one of conspiracy leading to concealment of a brother in . fender Kathy Nester argues against questions Commission fi les), publishes an editorial Moore and Dee’s deaths. about race, saying, “To allow the government lambasting the re-opening of the case. She Feb. 22, 2007 to set the tone and create racial hysteria before writes: “The editor sees no new evidence— Jan. 25, 2007 U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate the jurors even step into the room, is to deny no reason—to put a new generation through U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gon- denies two motions by Seale’s defense: one (Seale) a fair trial.” Fitzgerald responds: “It painful memories. … Halfway around the zales, accompanied by U.S. Attorney Dunn to dismiss the trial based on an exceeded was the defendant who inserted race into this world our young people are dying because Lampton and FBI Director Bob Mueller, statute of limitations and another to revoke case.” Trial date is set for May 29. their young people were not allowed to for- announces grand jury indictments in Wash- Anderson’s order for detention. give and forget. Let that not be the legacy we ington, D.C. “We would much prefer, of April 18, 2007 leave our children.” course, that justice had been served 40 years March 22, 2007 Wingate hears fi nal objections on ques-

Webb refuses to print Thomas Moore’s ago in this case,” Gonzales says. “But what Wingate denies defense’s motion to tionnaire, fi nalizes version to mail April 19. jacksonfreepress.com response, which he then asks the JFP to we are doing today—bringing closure to this recuse himself and Anderson from the trial. 15 16 May 24 - 30, 2007

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of pretrial motion hearings. In three days, KATE MEDLEY he settled all remaining motions and heard from all remaining witnesses. These wit- nesses, most elderly, testifi ed about the circumstances of Seale’s arrest on Nov. 6, 1964, the lifelong fear of a deceased FBI informant and the grip the Klan had on Franklin County in the 1960s. On the fi rst day of testimony, witnesses testifi ed regarding the defense’s motion to suppress statements Seale made during the two-hour ride from Seale’s home in Franklin County to Jackson following his arrest in 1964. Retired FBI Agent Edward Putz, who rode to Jackson with Seale following his arrest, took the stand April 30 to testify for the defense’s motion to suppress Seale’s statements. Tall, broad-shouldered and with a shock of white hair, Putz described the ar- Seale was living in an RV next to his brother’s house when the CBC and the JFP learned he was alive. At Seale’s bond hearing, pros- ecutors argued that the vehicle indicated a fl ight risk. Roxie residents report that he and his wife briefl y left after Moore’s 2005 visit. rest by two highway patrolmen, a fellow FBI agent and himself. In a document he fi led the day of Seale’s arrest, Putz recorded a verbatim Marcus Edwards, and not put the murder used a courtroom hearing aid. lin and Adams counties in the 1960s, holding exchange between Seale and FBI special agent case before a grand jury. She also argued that Davis described receiving a call from meetings in City Hall, promoted by David Lenard Wolf, in which Wolf, referring to the Seale was not advised of his right to remain Seale’s wife at 6:30 a.m. saying that her hus- Webb, the now-deceased editor of the Frank- kidnapping and murder of Moore and Dee, silent or his right to a lawyer. band had been picked up in the middle of the lin Advocate newspaper and then-publicity said, “We know you did it, you know you did Putz denied any physical harm to Seale. night. She asked Davis to come over, and “see director of APWR, according to documents it, the Lord above knows you did it.” “There was no struggle. The man was not as- the condition the house was in.” in the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission “Yes, but I’m not going to admit it; you saulted. I did not hear or see it,” he said. “It looked like a storm had gone through fi les. Davis also admitted to helping construct are going to have to prove it,” Seale said. Arguing for the prosecution, Eric Gib- it—things gone this way and another. I don’t a private school that excluded blacks. In the motion to suppress, public de- son noted that Miranda rights did not yet know if it was any big damage or anything. “I knew the schools were being mixed fender Kathy Nester wrote that Seale was exist in 1964, and that Seale never asked for It was just things tore up, turned around,” up. That’s why we took an old school and “subjected to physical abuse by the offi cers a lawyer. He argued that Seale’s confession Davis said. built it up,” Davis said. and agents questioning him”—the same was voluntary because it did not result from In cross-examination, Davis acknowl- “Did you participate in your goal of argument that his defense attorneys used in threats, rewards or extensive interrogation. edged that the reason the house looked keeping the races segregated with members of 1965 to get District Attorney Lenox Forman “The very defi ance of his reply is disheveled, Seale’s wife had told him, was the Seale family?” Fitzgerald continued. to release Seale, and co-defendant Charles evidence of its voluntary nature. (Seale) because highway patrolmen and FBI agents “I’m pretty sure some of the Seales did. is basically telling (the were searching for a gun: Seale’s sawed-off Probably all of them,” Davis replied. agents) to go pound 12-gauge shotgun. He then described seeing As he left the stand, Davis walked toward sand,” Gibson said. Seale after he had been released from pris- Seale, but was blocked by defense lawyers from

MATT SALDAÑA MATT The defense then called on—how many days later, Davis could not making eye contact with him. Seale watched Jack Davis, a retired recall. Davis could not deny that his father, as clerks escorted Davis out of the courtroom. constable, construction Roy Davis, received funds from the Ku Klux Davis lingered in the doorway, peering through worker, stevedore and Klan in order to post Seale’s bond. the circular window back at Seale. bartender from Franklin “(Seale) pulled his shirt up, and it was Two days later, Wingate denied the County, to testify that he two or three ribs there that were pretty red. I motion to suppress Seale’s statements, citing had witnessed bruising asked, ‘What happened to that?’ He told me, inconsistent testimony from Jack Davis. on several of Seale’s ribs ‘They asked me a question I couldn’t answer, after his arrest. Davis said and they elbowed me.’ I asked him who, and ‘The Leaders, the Dictators’ that he lived “10 or 15 he said, ‘The FBI,’” Davis said. On April 30 and May 1, Wingate minutes” from Seale in In January 2007, Davis testifi ed before heard testimony from witnesses regarding Franklin County, where a grand jury that he had seen only one red the government’s motion to include the he had lived for “80 years mark, about the size of a silver dollar, in the statements of Ernest Gilbert, a deceased FBI or so.” A short man with a week following Seale’s arrest. informant and former KKK leader who had broad forehead and dark, Under cross-examination by Fitzgerald, information linking Seale to the Dee-Moore sharply angled eyebrows, Davis admitted to being a member of Ameri- murders but never testifi ed in court before his Jean Seale leaving the James O. Eastland Federal Building Davis wore a green fl annel cans for the Preservation of the White Race in in Jackson after her husband was denied bond. shirt tucked into jeans and the 1960s—an organization active in Frank- FACING JUSTICE, see p. 18 The Road to Justice: A Timeline, continued April 30, 2007 retired FBI agents and informant Ernest with a judicial forum to testify during the May 10, 2007 Wingate hears witness testimony in the Gilbert’s widow take the stand to provide three years between outing himself as an in- Deadline passes for potential jurors to fi nal round of pretrial motions. Retired FBI testimony about Gilbert, who died in 2003 formant on ABC’s “20/20” in 2000 and his return questionnaires. Agent Edward Putz, who rode with Seale and never testifi ed about his knowledge of death in 2003. Citing inconsistent testimony following his arrest on Nov. 6, 1964, and the Dee-Moore murders in court. Former from Jack Davis and no evidence of coercion May 29, 2007 Jack Davis, former member of Americans Mississippi Highway Patrolman Donald by FBI agents, Wingate rules that Seale’s The criminal trial of James Ford Seale is for the Preservation of the White Race, testify Butler adds testimony about KKK presence comments on Nov. 6, 1964 are admissible. scheduled to begin in the James O. Eastland regarding defense motion to suppress Seale’s in 1960s Franklin County. The judge also denies two fi nal motions from Federal Building in Jackson. statements. Retired FBI agent Billy Bob Wil- the defense to dismiss the trial, one for lack liams also takes the stand. May 2, 2007 of a speedy trial and one for spoiled evidence. The JFP will blog daily about the trial of Wingate denies the government motion “Once (the government) found that they Seale at roadtomeadville.com.

May 1, 2007 to allow Ernest Gilbert’s statements, noting could prosecute, they did,” Wingate says. — Matt Saldaña and Donna Ladd jacksonfreepress.com In the second day of witness testimony, that prosecutors failed to provide Gilbert 17 18 May 24 - 30, 2007 Jonathan Ridgeland, MS 601.853.4445summerhousestyle.com Retirement Sale our JonathanAdler furniture inventory. Come advantage take ofupto The Township 1109 HighlandColony Pkwy * * Adler * 50 % off Knights oftheKu KluxKlaninMississippi. he confessedthat hehadfoundedthe White tail, remained friendswithGilbert even after man withlonghairpulledback into apony- fear ofreprisal. Stewart, amiddle-agedblack life, tookthestandtotestifyabout Gilbert’s Eddie Stewart, formerpolicechiefof Clinton, La.,andafriendofGilbert lateinhis pect wasabullettothehead,” Williams said. furnished (totheFBI),leasthecouldex- “Absolutely. (Gilbert) wasaware thatif he wasexposed,withtheinformationhad asked ifhewasconcernedforGilbert’s safety. in 1964andwhonow lives inOregon, was One dayearlier, Billy Bob Williams, a retired FBIagentstationedinNatchez, Miss., Timmons saidthatGilbert lateraskedto be arrested toescape theKlan. Timmons said. absolutely expectingtobeshotdeath,” “He wasscared todeath. The mancould hardly talk.He couldhardly walk.He was property, hewouldshootthem. guise, toldthemthatiftheydidnotleave his that theagentswere Klanmembersindis- house toofferprotection. Gilbert, convinced Timmonsand afellow FBIagentvisitedGilbert describedthetimethathe athis were killers,”hesaid. want themtoknow whotheywere. They and theywere feared. (Informants) didn’t ofthecountry.in thatpart They were strong, sidered theleaders,dictatorsofKlan “Iknow from Klanmemberswhotalked to meonthestreet that(theSeales) were con- fellow Klansmen. father Clyde as“killers” whowere feared by scribed James Seale, hisbrother Jack andhis back andwore abluejacketandred tie,de- Timmons, whoslickedhisgrayhair in McComb, Miss. be killed,”said Timmons, aformerFBIagent “It wascommonknowledge thatifthe identity of(Gilbert) wasrevealed, hewould who diedin2003. the standtoprovide testimonyaboutGilbert, Jimmie Gilbert, Ernest Gilbert’s widow, took who befriendedGilbert lateinhislife;and mer Clinton,La.,Police ChiefEddie Stewart, Retired FBIagentsBilly Bob Williams, Reesie Timmons andClarence Prospere; for- out offearandintimidation. had prevented Gilbert from takingthestand his righttocross-examine Gilbert becausehe death. Prosecutors arguedthatSeale forfeited inspired by seeing Edgar Ray Killentakeninspired themonthbefore. tojail Ray by seeingEdgar 2005thatshewas CBCinJuly Byrd,toldtheJFPand Mary HenryDee, thesisterof this case(www.roadtomeadville.com deaths ofCharlesMoore andHenry Dee. in earnest, 43yearsand27daysafterthe On May delay, 29,pendinganyfurther the prosecution ofJames Ford Seale willbegin could prosecute, theydid,” Wingate said. so by jurisdictionissues.Once theyfound government attemptedtopros- “[T]he ecute thiscase,butwasprevented from doing 1964 andSeale’s prosecution in2007. year gapbetween Moore andDee’s deathsin would receive anunfairtrialbecauseofthe42- both motions,thedefensearguedthatSeale a speedytrialandoneforspoiledevidence.In Wingate alsodeniedtwomotionsfrom the defensetodismisstrial,oneforlackof Wingate said. til hefi the witnesswasfi recognizes court that(Gilbert) was “The assured hewouldnever have totestify, andthat causes, in2003. “20/20” in2000andhisdeath,by natural himself asan FBIinformantonABC’sing to testifyduringthethree years between out- failed toprovide Gilbert withajudicialforum Gilbert’s statements,notingthatprosecutors In the mostsubstantialblow tothepros- ecution, Wingate deniedthemotiontoadmit do isprosecute,’” Stewart said. theyneed.Allneedto them everything family andhimself. …(Gilbert) said,‘Igave becausehewas“deathlycourt afraidforhis despite hisurging,Gilbert never testifi even ifhedidnottalk.However, Stewart said on (Gilbert)” toreveal himasaninformant contacted Gilbert, “hadenoughinformation because ABCproducer Eric Phillips, whohad himself asaninformanton“20/20”in2000 trial. Stewart alsoadvisedGilbert toreveal the to Stewart advisedGilbert totellhisstory a LouisianaFBIagent,thetranscriptofwhich beat themandthrew themintheriver.” kids, tookthemouttoClyde Seale’s farm, and toldhimthattheypickeduptwoblack and Ernest Parker. They cametohishouse some names—Clyde, Jack andJames Seale Stewartperson hetrusted,” said.“He called “He saidhe neededtotalkme,that andthatIwastheonly important it wasvery there duringthetrial. re-opened in2005. A JFPteamwillblogdaily ground onthiscase,whichaJFPteamhelped get

government latersoughttoincludeinthe See theJFP’s “Road toMeadville” blog on nally madestatementson‘20/20,’” lled withdread andfear—un- FROM PAGE 17 ) forback-

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COURTESY THOMAS MOORE they tookthem tothefarmofSeale’s fatherClyde, lifeless, covered withblood.Prosecutors then believe the young menwere hanging there by thewaist,nearly them tostop. When theKlansmentired ofswinging, of ablackpreacher inRoxie, Rev. Clyde Briggs, toget lin County. One ofthemfi know whowasleadingthe“Negro problems” inFrank- Muslims aninsurrection. tostart trying They wantedto Astheypoundedtheboys bloody, theKlansmen theyweretold CharlesandHenry theyknew Black long, skinnybeansticks. boys toatree and beganseverely beatingthembothwith the White KnightsoftheKu KluxKlan—tiedthetwo gun onthem,theKlansmen—allreportedly membersof drop onthetwoNegroes.” With Seale holdingtheshot- Seale gotoutwithhiscarbineinhand“and gotthe Charles andHenry gotoutjustasthepickuppulledup. the Homochitto National Forest. When hestopped, he wantedthemtotalkto. He thenturnedoff84into Seale reportedly usedhiswalkie-talkietocallthe totellthemhehadtwoNegroesmen inthepickuptruck talk to,according totheinformant. there were more agentswaitingthathewantedthemto picious, andoneaskedhimtopullover. Seale toldthem on Highway 84,toward Natchez, theboys becamesus- was aFederal Revenue drivingwest agent.Ashestarted over anywayandtoldthemtogetintothecar, thathe the boys, whodidnotthumbhimforaride.He pulled the carandfollow himinhispick-up;hewent backto worked atInternational Paper inNatchez, togetoutof with him,reportedly CharlesMarcus Edwards, who come down from Chicago.” He toldtheman driving in Mississippi, especiallysinceoneofthemhadrecently that theywere “part oftheagitationthatwasgoingon his Volkswagen andsawthetwoboys, hegotinhishead According toinformants,whenJames Ford Seale, drivera 29-year-old from truck Meadville, drove by in she camebackby there. the doctorandfi friend, Henry Dee, also19.Mazie hadgottenarideto T The Crime:May 2,1964 pictured here withhisbrother Thomas(ontheright) inaschoolphoto.NoHenryDeephotoisavailable. and Ford James Reported tobetried Klansman Sealeisabout Moore Charles forkidnapping in1964.Moore is in Meadville, tothumbaridewithhis trying front ofDillon’s gasstationonMain Street 19-year-old sonCharles,hewasstandingin he lasttimeMazie Moore ever sawherboy, gured shewouldpickthemupwhen nally toldthemthename crimes. The FBIcalledinNavy divers who,onOct. 30 setting upafi FBIrecords from thetimeshow thatthebureau, headed by J.Edgar Hoover, tookthemurders seriously, ies were thoseof Dee andMoore. second onewasfoundJuly 13—indicated thatthebod- found inthepocketsofpants onthetorsos—the Neshoba counties,andstillmissing.But personaleffects sheets,” astheFBIcalledthem)from Lauderdale and Schwerner, killedJune 21by White Knights(or“bed- spot forJames Chaney, Andrew Goodman andMichael 1964, theFBIthoughtthattheyhadfoundburial Whenafi the fi informant said. ten bloodallover theboat,” them becauseitwouldhave got- that hedidnotwanttoshoot still breathing, but“Seale replied them fi men talkedaboutshooting thrown overboard. The Klans- still breathing whentheywere later saythatthemenwere the water. Informants would to Moore, andsunktheminto body, andotherengineparts There,tied Jeep theFBIsaidthey toDee’s engineparts La., sixmilesfrom Vicksburg. Warren County near Tallulah, boat landing.Ole River istheMississippi backwaterin to “Palmyra Ben” orthe“Ole River”—near Parker’s getting intothetrunk. They thendrove some100miles and Henry onaplastic tarptokeepbloodstainsfrom the twomen,whowere nearlydead. They putCharles to bringhisred Ford cartotheforest andhelploadup his buddyErnest Parker, thenaNatchez businessman, Seale forhelpby reportedly getting responded tothecry “KIWU!”Clyde said. The word “Kiwu” standsfor “Klansman, Iwantyou” intheKKKhandbook.Jack in Natchez, informantssay. Knights. Clyde Seale calledanotherson,Jack Seale, over of Meadville, thentheGrand Cyclops ofthe White onJulyrst bodyparts 12, rst, beingthattheywere FROM PAGE 19 eldoperationin Jackson toinvestigate the semn found sherman arrest onNov. 6,1964. FordJames Seale’smugshot,following his roadtomeadville.com. Maytrial, settostart 29inJackson. charges. Edwards isexpectedtotestifyagainst himinhis James Ford Seale forfederalkidnappingandconspiracy That never happened.No arrests wouldbemade in thecasefor42years whenfederalauthoritiesarrested later,the grandjury possibly assoonAugust 1965. evidence were developed, hewouldpresent thecase to dismissed attheinitialhearing.He saidthatifmore that suchaccusationswouldcausethechargestobe Forman calledthestories“dilatory tactics,”butbelieved Hoover’s declarationofjusticewaspremature, $5,000 bondeach,withahearingsetforJan. 11,1965. violence inMississippi.” The twomenwere released ona in bringingtojusticeindividualsresponsible forracial the FBI’s closecooperationwithMississippi authorities gation,” Hoover isanotherexampleof concluded.“This Edwards andSeale resulted from extensive FBIinvesti- Meadville arrests of thatwas afront fortheKKK.“The and hiswiferana“Rod andGun Club” inNatchez in meetings. AnotherinformanttoldtheFBIthatSeale Bothmenconfessedtothecrime,according tothe FBI, withEdwards admittingthathehadbeentoKlan sistant toPresident Lyndon Johnson, thesameday. Hoover wrote inalettertoBill Moyers, thenspecialas- on oraboutMay 2,1964,”asFBIDirector J.Edgar and withmaliceaforethought killingthetwoNegroes both ofMeadville, for“willfully, unlawfully, feloniously On Nov. 6,theFBIandlocalauthoritiesarrested James Ford Seale, 29,andCharlesMarcus Edwards, 31, grand jury. Forman inNatchez, whopromised toputitbefore the TheFBIwouldsoonturnover whatseemedtobe a wealth ofevidencetothen-District Attorney Lenox up, according toFBIreports. men’s wrists;heworriedthathisfi that hewasscared becausehehadputthetapeon somehow.surface James Seale, inparticular, toldbuddies Meantime, themeninvolved togetnervous started because theyworriedthatthebodieswouldfl go around abody.” other itemseachhadaloopsuffi with achain.” chainonthe The FBImemoadded,“The of railroad railandtwosmallsteelwheelstiedtogether Jeep engineblockwithachainattachedandtwopieces and 31,dredged up“a a humanskull,bones,twoshirts, Follow thetrial ofJames Ford Seale onlinedailyat that, aftertheirarrest, theyhad “put outthestory” inMeadville the defendantsbecausethey Forman saidthatthecase was “greatly prejudiced” toward and Edwards. drop thechargesagainstSeale Cole, andhadthendecidedto Charles Snodgrass andGwyn Highway Patrol Investigators Garland Lyle, andMississippi Assistant Attorney General County Sheriff Wayne Hutto, discussed thecasewithFranklin memo statedthattheD.A.had however. AJan. 12,1965,FBI sissippi State Highway Patrol. denied medicationby theMis- mistreated”been “brutally and by Donna Ladd cientlylargeenoughto ngerprints wouldturn oat tothe