A federal appeals court has reinstated the kidnapping convictions of reputed Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale in the 1964 deaths of two black teenagers in Mississippi. Seale, 73, is serving three life sentences for on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the abductions of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee.The key issue in the appeal is the statute of limitations for federal kidnapping charges.
In June 2007, Seale was convicted of abducting the two 19-year-old black teens, beating them and throwing them into the Mississippi River, possibly while they were still alive.
In September 2008, a three-judge 5th Circuit panel threw out the convictions ruling that the statute of limitations on kidnapping had expired. On Friday, the full 5th Circuit court overturned that ruling although the court's vote was tied and the two-page ruling did not mention the specifics of the statute of limitations issue.
The Statute of Limitations Issue
Officially, the tie vote upheld the trial judge's original finding that the statute of limitations had not expired and sent the appeal back to the three-judge panel to consider other issues raised in Seale's appeal.
When the two teenagers were kidnapped in May 1964, kidnapping was a capital crime and had not statute of limitations. In 1972, the federal kidnapping law was rewritten to remove the death penalty as a punishment and changed the statute of limitations to five years.
Seale's public defender attorneys argued in their appeal that the five-year statute of limitation should be applied retroactively to his case.
As it stands, the 5th Circuit's ruling will allow federal prosecutors to pursue kidnapping charges in investigations into other civil rights era crimes.
See Also:
Court Reinstates Klansman’s Conviction
Background:
The Trial of James Ford Seale
Photo: Mug Shot
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