Policy Issues: The Mississippi Cold Case - Essay Example

? Policy Issues: The Mississippi Cold Case Introduction On 2 May 1964, two nineteen – year – olds, Charles Moore and Henry Deen, were found murdered in the Mississippi river (Ridgen, 2007). This was a personal and a civil rights crime. The two victims were of color and civil rights activists, while their murderers were members of the Ku Klux Klan (Siegel, 2009, p.492). However, the investigation was soon overshadowed by the Mississippi burnings and the case was abandoned, until it was reopened due to the evidence gathered by the victim’s brother and a filmmaker, David Ridgen. Causes of the personal and civil rights crime Causes of the crime were hatred and racism. The victims were abducted, beaten and drowned (Siegel, 2009, p.492; Ridgen, 2007). The fact that they were civil rights activists is seen as the cause of their murders by the Ku Klux Klan (Siegel, 2009, p.492). The same organization is known for its promotion of racism and white supremacy. Moreover, the brother of the victim, Thomas Moore, recalls and compares his previous interactions with the white locals to the current, providing a viewer with an insight into the racial inequalities and segregations present in the local community at the time. Besides being the civil rights crime, this is also a personal crime as one of the Klan members disliked Deen, who allegedly stared at his wife (Ridgen, 2007). However, lack of witnesses, apart from an anonymous informant, set James Ford Seale and his companions free (Siegel, 2009, p.492). Herb (2005, p.4) argued that the case was dismissed after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) handed it over to the local authorities. Seale was finally indicted and charged on 14 June 2007 with a life in prison on all charges (Siegel, 2009, p.492). Implications of the case The crime was addressed only recently, once the U.S. Attorney recommended that the case be reopened. For years, according to the U.S. Attorney, this crime was shoved under the rug for the fear of the Ku Klux Klan among the local community members. Once the fear dissipated, the U.S. Attorney reopened it and gathered evidence necessary to obtain an indictment. This case serves as an example of other civil rights and personal crimes, indicating that power of the local elites might influence the investigation and prosecution. Basis for the video selection Improper treatment of evidence was the primary reason for the selection of this video. One of the first things shown in the video is the FBI report from 1965, indicating that the case was opened, but it is visible from the brother’s statement that nobody was charged for the murder, indicating that the case investigation might had gone awry at the time of the investigation in the 60’s. A proof of improper treatment of evidence is the acknowledgment by the brother of the victim and the producer that there are thousands of documents present on the case, 1600 in total, all scattered around the US. The video provides the viewer with images of the corpses, while claims are made that there was no lack of evidence. The anonymous informant could had been used as the witness against Seale and his companions, but the FBI decided to protect his identity. Another reason for the selection of this case is the influence of the media and public opinion on crime investigation. The Mississippi burnings swayed public attention away from the murders of Moore and Deen. The public lost interest in the murders, more so because the victims were not white, unlike in the Mississippi burnings, where, as the video shows, two of the three victims were white. The viewer is led to believe in the video that the public was racially divided in the 60’s, which led to such a shift in attention. Subsequently, the District Attorney’s office (DA) and the investigators dropped the case on Moore and Deen. There is no mention of financial restrictions on the law enforcement authorities in dealing with the murders, which could justify why a new major murder led to an abandonment of the older, unresolved case. The video focuses on the socio – political aspects of the case, such as the power of the Ku Klux Klan, racial inequalities in the state, and preferences for solving crimes where victims were white. Thus, judged from the video, the main reasons that could have led to the closing of the case were media and public opinion, as well as the power of the Ku Klux Klan among the community members, as explained by the DA. It seems that these factors influenced the law enforcement authorities, which led to the neglect of evidence. Third, the Ku Klux Klan was a terrorist organization. Ridgen argued that they operated within the US during the civil rights era, and contrasted it to the Al Qaeda. Thus, it is interesting to watch testimonials by locals who were against reopening of the case, including those who protected Seale’s identity. These individuals protected terrorist – like individuals, indicating that they most likely sympathized or supported their anti – civil rights movement. Conflict theory In view of the information provided in the video, the conflict theory best explains this crime. This theory explains why the criminal justice system failed the victims: The criminal justice system and criminal law are thought to be operating on behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing standards of morality and good behavior created by the powerful on the whole of society (Greek, 2005). The Ku Klux Klan attempted to preserve the social order through violence. The middle class seems to had sided with the Klan in hopes of preserving the social order. The FBI too sided with the powerful, which was a rule rather than an exception at that time: “The FBI and the CIA both directed efforts at monitoring such behavior. Thus, the law enforcement community had come down on the wrong side of those seeking social change (Greek, 2005).” Conclusion This video provides an insight into the conflict theory by looking at the Mississippi cold case. Testimonials by community members, the DA, the victim’s brother and a few other locals, as well as the extent of the files on this case, provide ample evidence that this case was neglected because the victims were of the wrong color. Instead of pursuing this case and indicting the perpetrators, the case was closed until outsiders became interested in it and forced the law enforcement authorities to reopen it and reexamine the evidence. References Greek, C.E. (2005). Conflict: Conflict theory. In Criminological theory. Retrieved from http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/conflict.htm Herb, B. (2005). Suspect in Mississippi murders thought dead found alive. New York Amsterdam News, 96 (40). Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/18872935/suspect-mississippi-murders-thought-dead-found-alive Ridgen, D. (Director) (2007). Mississippi cold case: Solving a murder from the civil rights era [Motion picture]. (Available from Google Films on Demand, 132 West 31st Street 17th Floor, New York, NY 10001) Siegel, L.J. (2009). Criminology. Belmont: Thomson Learning, Inc. Read More