Georgia DA so far refuses to prosecute suspects behind 1946 black lynching

[Selatius]

Activists Want Arrests in '46 Lynching



By ELIOTT C. McLAUGHLIN, Associated Press Writer

MONROE, Ga. - Where the old Moore's Ford bridge once stood, there are no reminders of the atrocities committed here almost 59 years ago — other than a crude, black "KKK" spray-painted on the underside of a modern bridge nearby.

In 1946, a white mob pulled four black sharecroppers from a car near the river's banks, dragged them down a wagon trail and shot them to death. Now, dozens of politicians, activists and relatives of the victims are pressing a local prosecutor to use the FBI's original investigation to seek indictments against the few surviving suspects in the deaths of Roger and Dorothy Malcom and George and Mae Murray Dorsey.

"This," declared state Rep. Tyrone Brooks of Atlanta, "was the most heinous collective crime ever perpetuated against African-Americans in this state."

...

So far, though, the committee's prosecutorial efforts — bolstered by several civil rights cases reopened elsewhere in recent years — have not influenced District Attorney Ken Wynne, who says he will not seek indictments unless new evidence is presented. He points to a 2001 investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that did not unearth any new evidence. GBI officials, however, say they consider the case open.

Brooks' response to Wynne's stance is pointed.

"We don't need any more investigations. The evidence is there," Brooks said. "They should be charged and let a jury decide their fate."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=11&u=/ap/20050331/ap_on_re_us/lynching_justice

My take: We've come a long way, but we still have a long road ahead. This is just pissing me off.

[applegrove]

1. I cannot read - would be too harsh. But I think that there is no expiry on

murder cases so if they have the evidence they must prosecute.