Emmett Till Accuser Denies Wanting Teen Killed In Unpublished Memoir: ‘I did not wish Emmett any harm and could not stop harm from coming to him’

According to reports, Tyson had placed the manuscript in an archive at the University of North Carolina with the agreement that it not be made public for decades, however, he said he gave it to the FBI during an investigation that the agency ended last year. Now, he has chosen to make it public following the recent discovery of an arrest warrant on kidnapping charges that was issued for Carolyn Donham in 1955 but never served. In the wake of the recent developments, Timothy Tyson said,

“The potential for an investigation was more important than the archival agreements, though those are important things. But this is probably the last chance for an indictment in this case.”

In the manuscript compiled by her daughter-in-law, Carolyn Donham claims she attempted to help Emmett Till once he’d been located by her husband and brother-in-law and brought to her in the middle of the night for identification.

“I did not wish Emmett any harm and could not stop harm from coming to him, since I didn’t know what was planned for him. I tried to protect him by telling Roy that ‘He’s not the one. That’s not him. Please take him home.'”

She claims in the manuscript that Till– who had been dragged from a family home at gunpoint in the middle of the night– spoke up and identified himself. Donham says she “always felt like a victim as well as Emmett” and “paid dearly with an altered life” for what happened to him. At the end of her manuscript, she wrote:

“I have always prayed that God would bless Emmett’s family. I am truly sorry for the pain his family was caused.”

Retired FBI agent, Dale Killinger–who investigated the case more than 15 years ago–says Donham’s unpublished memoir contains contradictions that raise questions about her truthfulness through the years. For example, Killinger points out that Carolyn Donham claims in the memoir to have yelled for help after being confronted by Emmett Till inside the family grocery store in Money, Mississippi, yet no one ever reported hearing her screams. Also, Donham reportedly never mentioned that she and Roy Bryant spoke about Till’s abduction, however, in the manuscript, she says they did. Kiliger said,

“That seems ludicrous. How would you have a major event in your life and not talk about it?”

Carolyn Donham