Healing the wounds of the South

Even though the man is now 80 years old, and whether or not he actually carried a weapon at the scene of the crime, Edgar Ray Killen should be made an example. As his murder trial goes to jury, we have to remind ourselves that there is still a lot of justice that has yet to be served dating back to the Civil Rights era.

The prosecutor said that while there was no testimony putting the murder weapon in Killen's hands, the evidence showed he was a Klan organizer and had played a personal role in preparations the day of the murders.

"He was in the Klan and he was a leader," Attorney General Jim Hood said.

Exactly.

Killen was tried in 1967 along with several others on federal charges of violating the victims' civil rights. The all-white jury deadlocked in Killen's case, but seven others were convicted. None served more than six years.

The defense rested earlier Monday after a former mayor testified that the Klan was a "peaceful organization."

Harlan Majure, who was mayor of this rural Mississippi town in the 1990s, said Killen was a good man and that the part-time preacher's Klan membership would not change his opinion.

Majure said the Klan "did a lot of good up here" and said he was not personally aware of the organization's bloody past.

"As far as I know it's a peaceful organization," Majure said. His comment was met with murmurs in the packed courtroom.

Awful. Who still says that today? I rest my case... Killen was being sheltered by a community that was tolerant of the Klan. That needs to change.