Emmett Till Murder Case

In September of 1955, in Sumner, Mississippi, the trial of Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, took place. Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were indicted for murder in connection with the kidnapping and killing of 14-year-old Emmett Till. Emmett Till’s murder has become one of the most well-known murders that took place in the south during the 1950s. Even the general secretary of the Citizens' Councils of Mississippi, Robert Patterson, called the murder "very regrettable”. A Death in the Delta mentioned white storekeepers setting out jars on their counters for contributions to aid them an attorney, which soon totaled to almost $10,000. The lawyers from the town of Sumner were on the defense counsel and one agreed to represent Bryant and Milam.

The ring had “L.T.” on it, which was given to Emmett by his father, Louis Till before he died. The body of Emmett was also used as evidence in the trial. Moses Wright, Emmett Till’s Uncle, identified his body as well as his mother, Mammie Till. The town sheriff, H. C. Strider, was quoted saying that the corpse had been dumped into the river about two days before it was discovered. However, Sheriff, H. C. Strider, switched his words by saying that Till’s corpse was too decomposed to have been in the water for only 2 days and mentioned that his body resembled an adult. He even spread a rumor that Till was indeed not dead, the ring was stolen and that Till had run off to another state. Which of course the jury accepted his

He used the idea of the “L.T.” ring being planted on the body. During the trial, he stated to the jury “sure that every last Anglo-Saxon one of you has the courage to free these men in the face of that pressure.” He also accused Moses of teaming up with the NAACP, sneaking Emmett out of town and putting his ring on a rotten corpse. The second defense attorney, Sidney Carlton, guilt trip the jury by saying that their fathers would turn over in their graves if they were to charge Bryant and Milam a guilty verdict. The third defense attorney, J.J. Breland, who didn’t even ask for a confession from the men. I feel that these defense attorneys knew just like everyone else, that Bryant and Milam were going to be not guilty, no matter what anyone said because they are