Reopening Of The Emmett Till Investigation Has Been Closed 

The Reopening Of The Emmett Till Investigation Has Been Closed

Emmett Till’s case has been closed, yet again with age-old questions still lingering on.

The second investigation for the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till reportedly has come to a close. A critical piece of information–which sparked the reopening of the investigation–was allegedly proven to be of no substance. Whether that information actually had the power to change the outcome of the investigation is unknown.

The exact story of what took place between 20-year-old Carolyn Bryant Donham and Emmett Till in 1955 has never been told. Some said Emmett, who had traveled from Chicago to be with his family in Mississippi, whistled at her. Carolyn herself testified that he took her by the hand and made sexual advances towards her, mentioning something about having experience with white women.

Either way, her accusations resulted in the gruesome kidnapping and killing of Emmett Till and aided in the acquittal of her husband.

Several decades later, Carolyn was questioned about testimony in the trial for Emmett’s murder. When Timothy Tyson, a professor, pressed her about her past statements, he claimed Carolyn said:

“That part’s not true.”

Once her claims made headlines, multiple people across the nation demanded that the case be re-opened. However, the Justice  Department allegedly had no interest in re-opening the case because they’d already done so in 2007. At the end of that attempt, they’d concluded that they couldn’t move forward due to lack of evidence as well as the statute of limitations.

Timothy presented his new piece of evidence in 2017, which prompted federal investigators to have another conversation with Carolyn, who was well into her 80s. She allegedly vehemently denied confessing anything to Tyson.

The investigation reportedly fell through because Tyson’s conversation with Carolyn wasn’t recorded or transcribed, and he would not directly say if he had ever been in possession of a recording. As a result, the Justice Department has decided once again that they can’t prove Carolyn lied under oath.

Emmett’s surviving family members allegedly met with Justice Department officials in Chicago on Monday (Dec. 6). They were informed about the details and the outcome of the investigation.

Do you think the investigation should’ve been reopened? Leave us a comment and let us know. 

[VIA]