As a result of the discovery of an outstanding arrest warrant in connection with the killing of Emmett Till, it has come to light that Carolyn Bryant Donham is still alive today.
The Associated Press reports that during the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Emmett Till in 1955, a warrant for the arrest of a “Mrs. Roy Bryant” that had been issued in August of that year but never served was found. Now, the girl’s family wants the woman to be taken into custody for the murder of their 14-year-old daughter.
What happened to Emmett till?
Emmett Till, a black boy of 14 years old, was traveling from Chicago to Mississippi to spend time with his family in late August of 1955. It was reported that Emmett was telling his cousins that the woman he was seeing back at home was white while they were all standing outside of a store.
His cousins, who did not believe him, dared him to enter the store and ask the white woman (Carolyn Bryant) working behind the counter if she would go on a date with him. Till entered the store, purchased some candies, and as he was exiting, his cousins overheard him say, “Bye, baby.” According to Bryant, Till grabbed her and then “wolf-whistled” at her.
When the woman told her husband, Roy Bryant, who had just returned from a business trip, what had happened, he became furious and drove to Till’s great-house, uncle’s where he was staying, and demanded to see the boy. Till’s great-uncle refused to let him see Till.
Bryant and his half-brother, JW Milam, abducted Till in spite of the pleadings of Till’s family members.
It is not known what the exact sequence of events was, but it is known that Till was brutally assaulted before he was killed and thrown in a river. When his body was recovered, the only thing that could be used to identify him was a ring that was found on one of his fingers.
Till’s mother demanded that her son’s body be brought to her in Chicago, and she held an open-casket funeral to demonstrate what had occurred to her son. She was distraught over what had happened to her son.
Bryant and Milam were arrested for Till’s murder, but in September of that year, an all-white jury found the two men not guilty of the boy’s murder after deliberating for a little more than an hour. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of the charges.
Carolyn bryant donham still alive?
According to the Associated Press, the warrant for Donham was made public at the time, but the sheriff of Leflore County told reporters that he did not want to “bother” the woman because she was responsible for two young children at the time.
Since the rediscovery of the warrant by members of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, including two of Emmett’s relatives – cousin Deborah Watts and her daughter Teri – the family has demanded that authorities question Carolyn Bryant Donham about her account of the events. These members of the family include Deborah Watts, who is Emmett’s cousin, and her daughter Teri.
Will carolyn bryant donham be arrested?
The Associated Press reported that Donham is now in her 80s and still resides in North Carolina. It is unknown whether or not Donham would actually be served with the warrant after 67 years have passed since the event. A law professor at the University of Mississippi named Ronald J. Rychlak stated that warrants have the potential to “go stale” and become useless if they do.
However, he added that if it was combined with new evidence, it might be a “important stepping stone toward establishing probable cause for a new prosecution.” This was said to be the case when the new evidence was combined with the old evidence.
Rychlak stated that if you went in front of a judge, you could say something along the lines of “Once upon a time a judge determined there was probable cause, and much more information is available today.”