Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?
The murder of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman by a gang of scared, hateful white men in 1964 was horrendous, revolting and intensely painful to progressive Mississippians. The pain the friends and families of those men felt was unbearable, no doubt. The crime was a knife wound to Mississippi’s image. But when the state of Mississippi refused to charge anyone with the crime, the wound became gangrenous and has been rotting ever since.
Last week, after 40 years, state officials finally decided to visit the doctor.
Edgar Ray Killen, who only months ago was planning on visiting the state fair to sign autographs, visited a different state institution Jan. 6. A state grand jury indicted Killen for the murders. Now he faces a March 28 trial date.
The commitment from the state sends a resounding message to so many people. It’s a message of hope for most Mississippians, a stern warning for others. For some who don’t know much about Mississippi, it’s an image: a scaly worm that has begun to spin a cocoon from which it will one day appear in a better form.
Most importantly, the decision to finally prosecute Killen for the crimes allows Mississippi to heal. If Killen, 79, had died without ever facing charges, a part of Mississippi would have died, too. And doctors can’t do anything for the dead.
Thank you Jim Hood, Dick Molpus, Jerry Mitchell, the Philadelphia Coalition and everyone else who was instrumental in finally prodding the state to action.
Again we ask, that wasn’t so bad, was it?
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Angela Adair, news editor Elizabeth Crisp, assistant news editor Jed Pressgrove sports editor Jeff Edwards, entertainment editor Dustin Barnes, managing editor Pam McTeer and editor in chief Josh Foreman.