Edgar Ray Killen Guilty in 'Mississippi Burning' Murders

On the 41st anniversary of the murders of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney a Mississippi jury of nine whites and three blacks found Edgar Ray Killen guilty of three counts of manslaughter.

The jury was deadlocked 6-6 after their first day of deliberations on three murder counts against Killen, but returned during their second day with the three manslaughter convictions.

Killen, 80, who is a convicted felon -- a fact that was not revealed to the jury -- will face a minimum sentence of at least one year in prison on each count. The maximum sentence for manslaughter in Mississippi is 20 years.

Heavy security surrounded the courthouse in Philadelphia, MS, as the verdicts were handed down. Jurors were loaded into two waiting vans and driven away from the area.

Killen was taken to the county jail after the verdict was announced. He will be held there until his sentencing, scheduled for Thursday.

Civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner were killed on June 21, 1964. Their bodies were found 44 days later buried in dam site.

See Also:
This Summer, America Revisits Civil Rights Era
William Fisher: Emmett Till and Others
Ex-Klansman Guilty of Manslaughter in 1964 Deaths
Ex-KKK Member Convicted in 1964 Killings

Background:
The 'Mississippi Burning' Case
The Trial of Edgar Ray Killen