Jury Selection Begins in 'Mississippi Burning' Trial

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of an alleged Ku Klux Klan member accused of the murders of three civil rights workers during "Freedom Summer" of 1964. The defendant in the case, Edgar Ray Killen, now 80 years old, watched the process from a wheelchair in the courtroom.

About 100 potential jurors were bused to the courthouse in Philadelphia, Mississippi under tight security. More jurors will be questioned by the judge Tuesday. More than 400 potential jurors are in the summoned pool, one third of which are black, according to reports.

Killen was arrested in January for the shooting deaths of civil rights workers James Chaney, a 21-year-old black Mississippian, and two white New Yorkers -- Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24.

Killen was tried in 1967 on federal charges of violating the three men's civil rights, but was freed when the trial ended in a hung jury. This current trial is the first time that the state has filed criminal charges in the case.

Killen, a part-time preacher who is also in the timber business, is in a wheelchair because of injuries he suffered when a tree fell on him. He is attended in the courtroom by a nurse.

Other indictments may be forthcoming in the case, which was the subject of the movie Mississippi Burning. Eight of the 18 men who were tried on federal conspiracy charges are still alive.

See Also:
Jury Selection Begins in '64 Miss. Deaths
KKK Suspect Goes on Trial for Mississippi Murders

Earlier Articles:
Trial Delayed for Accused Mississippi Klansman
Klansman Arrested in 1964 Civil Rights Murders

Background:
Freedom Summer