Prosecutors had sought murder convictions against Killen but entered the lesser charge of manslaughter just before the jury began deliberations. The jury deadlocked on the murder charges but returned convictions on manslaughter.

Several jurors said the prosecution did not present a strong case for murder. Much of the evidence depended on transcripts of the 1967 trial in which Killen walked free after an all-white jury could not reach a verdict. Seven other suspects were convicted in 1967, none of whom served more than six years in prison. The facts were neither new nor hidden, however.

Mike Hatcher, a long-time cop in Meridian, Mississippi, who was a member of the Klan, testified that Killen told him the day after the killings, “We took care of the civil rights workers.” Hatcher also testified that Killen told him how the three men were abducted and where the bodies were buried.

Michael Schwerner, 24, James Chaney, 21, and Andrew Goodman, 20, were a part of Freedom Summer in 1964, when dozens of civil rights workers came to Mississippi to help register Blacks to vote. They were met by Klan violence, illegal arrests, and burning of Black churches and homes.

The state and federal governments helped cover up the violence. Despite repeated demands for federal troops to protect Blacks and civil rights workers, President Lyndon Johnson and Attorney General Robert Kennedy refused to send even minimum protection. Clifton DeBerry, Socialist Workers presidential candidate, issued a statement published in the June 29, 1964, Militant demanding federal troops and calling on Blacks to organize and arm themselves for self-defense against racist violence.

Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman drove out to Philadelphia, Mississippi, June 21, 1964, to investigate the burning of Mount Zion Baptist church. On return, they were arrested by a local sheriff’s deputy, who was a Klansman, allegedly for speeding. The three were held long enough for a Klan hit squad to be assembled, which followed them as they drove from the prison. Their bodies were found 44 days later in an earthen dam.

Leroy Clemons, co-chairman of the coalition that fought to bring Killen to trial, said the Mississippi state government was also responsible for sanctioning racist murders in the 1960s. “A vigilante group may have fired the weapon, but the state of Mississippi loaded and aimed the weapon,” he said.  
 
 
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