Mississippi Burning Trial: Civil Rights Workers Murders - Edgar Ray Killen Day 6 - Verdict (2005)

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• published: 08 Aug 2013
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Although federal authorities believed there were many others who took part in the Neshoba County lynching, only ten men were charged with the actual murder of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.[6] One of these men included the county's deputy sheriff, who played a crucial role in implementing the conspiracy. Before his friend Lawrence A. Rainey was elected sheriff in 1963, Price worked as a salesman, bouncer, and fireman.[6] Cecil R. Price had no prior experience in local law enforcement. The twenty-six-year-old Price was the only person who witnessed the entire event. He arrested the three men, released them the night of the murders, and chased them down state highway 19 toward Meridian, eventually re-capturing them at the intersection near House, Mississippi. Price and the other nine men would escort them north along highway 19 to Rock Cut Road where the three civil rights workers would be murdered. All hopes for a "tell all" confession faded when Price, in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, fell to his death during a machinery accident in 2001. Killen went to Meridian earlier that Sunday to organize and recruit men for the job to be carried out in Neshoba County.[13] Before the men left for Philadelphia, Travis M. Barnette, 36, went to his Meridian home to take care of a sick family member. Travis Barnette was the owner of a Meridian garage and was a member of the White Knights. Alton W. Roberts, 26, was a dishonorably discharged U.S. Marine and worked as a salesman in Meridian. Roberts, standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighing in at 225 lb (102 kg), was a formidable foe and renowned for his short temper. According to witnesses, Roberts shot both Goodman and Schwerner at point blank range. He also shot Chaney in the head after Jordan shot him in the abdomen. Roberts is known for saying "Are you that nigger lover?" and shooting Schwerner after he responded, "Sir, I know just how you feel." Jimmy K. Arledge, 27, and Jimmy Snowden, 31, were both Meridian commercial drivers. Arledge, a high school drop-out, and Snowden, a U.S. Army veteran, were present during the murders. After the second arrest by Price, Arledge would drive the CORE station wagon from state highway 492 to Rock Cut Road. Jerry M. Sharpe, Billy W. Posey, and Jimmy L. Townsend were all from Philadelphia. Sharpe, 21, ran a pulp wood supply house. The twenty-eight-year-old Posey, a Williamsville, Mississippi, automobile mechanic, owned a 1958 red and white Chevrolet; the car was considered fast and was chosen over Sharpe's. The youngest was the seventeen-year-old Townsend; he left high school in 1964 to work at Posey's Phillips 66 garage. Horace D. Barnette, 25, was the younger half-brother of Travis. He had a 1957 two-toned blue Ford Fairlane sedan.[6] Horace Barnette's car is the one they took after Posey's car broke down. James Jordan, 38, has been claimed as the killer of Chaney. Jordan confessed his crimes to the federal authorities in exchange for a plea deal. After the release of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner around 10 p.m. from the Neshoba County jail, they were followed almost immediately by Deputy Sheriff Price in his 1957 white Chevrolet sedan patrol car.[14] Soon after, the civil rights workers left the city limits located along Hospital Road, they headed south on state highway 19. The civil rights workers arrived at Pilgrim's store where they may have been inclined to stop and use the telephone, but the presence of a Mississippi Highway Safety patrol car, manned by officer Wiggs and Poe, most likely dissuaded them. They continued south toward Meridian. The lynch mob, who was in Barnette's and Posey's cars, was drinking while arguing who would kill the three young men. Eventually Philadelphia Police Officer Burkes drove up to Horace D. Barnette's car and told the mob that "they're going on 19 toward Meridian. Follow them!" After a quick rendezvous with Philadelphia police officer Richard Willis, Price was in pursuit of the three civil rights workers. Posey's Chevrolet carried Sharpe, Townsend, and Roberts. Posey's car apparently had carburetor problems and was forced to be parked at the side of the highway. Sharpe and Townsend were ordered to stay with Posey's car and service it. In Horace's car were Jordan, Arledge, Snowden, Roberts, and Posey. Price eventually caught the CORE station wagon heading west toward Union, Mississippi, on state highway 492. Soon the three civil right workers would be escorted north on Highway 19 to secluded Rock Cut Road where they would be executed by Roberts and Jordan. After the murders, Jordan reportedly said, "well, you didn't leave me nothing but a nigger, but at least I killed me a nigger." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_civil_rights_workers%27_murders