(CNN)Mississippi grand jury rejects indictment of white woman accused of 14-year-old Emmett Till {8 did} allegations that approached her nearly 70 years ago and led to the brutal death of a black teen.
According to a statement from District Attorney Dwayne Richardson, a Lefleur County grand jury last week accused Carolyn Bryant Donham of kidnapping and manslaughter after hearing seven hours of testimony from investigators and witnesses. He said there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
The grand jury heard testimony from witnesses detailing investigations into the case from 2004 to the present and considered both charges, according to a statement.
"After hearing all aspects of the investigation and the evidence gathered regarding Donham's involvement, the grand jury returned 'No Bill' to both the kidnapping and manslaughter charges." said the statement. "The murder of Emmett Till is a tragedy that will be remembered in this country, and our nation's thoughts and prayers remain with Emmett Till's family."
Her warrant is dated August 29, 1955 and is signed by the Lefleur County Clerk. An image of the warrant shows that the current clerk authenticated the document on her June 21st.
Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., a cousin who witnessed Emmett's kidnapping, said on Tuesday state officials assured the family that they would leave no stone unturned in the fight for justice.
"By presenting this latest piece of evidence to a grand jury, they have kept their word. This result is disappointing but predictable news," he said in a statement. "The prosecutor did his best. We appreciate his efforts, but he alone failed to end the hundreds of years of anti-black system that ensured that those who killed Emmett Till went unpunished to this day." It can't be undone."
Another cousin, Deborah Watts, said the decision not to prosecute Bryant Donham was very disappointing, but said the family refused to give up.
"We continue Emmett Till's quest for accountability and justice," she said. "Emmett Till's death will not be in vain."
Emmett's murder remains a touchstone moment in America's long struggle against racial injustice and inequality, but today To date, no one has been held criminally responsible.
Emmett, who was living in Chicago, was visiting relatives in Mississippi in the summer of 1955 when Carolyn, then 20, had a fateful encounter with Bryant. She whistled to a woman at a market she owned with her husband in Money Town.
However, they were both acquitted by an all-white jury after a trial in which Carolyn Bryant testified that Emmett had grabbed her and verbally threatened her.The jury lasted only an hour. deliberated.
In an interview with Look magazine in 1956, the man later admitted to the killing.
Emmett's death drew attention far beyond Mississippi.Photos of his mutilated body were published in Jet magazine and circulated around the world.His mother, Mamie Till Mobley asked him to hold a public coffin funeral so the whole world could see her son's injuries and the consequences of racial terrorism - helping to promote the civil rights movement.
Milam died in 1980 and Bryant in 1994. Bryant his Donham is in his late 80's.
Bryant Donham proposed her in 1955, when Emmett grabbed her by the hands and waist, saying she had "been with a white woman before." testified that he did. Years later, however, when Professor Timothy Tyson presented that trial testimony in a 2008 interview with Bryant Donham, he claimed she told him "that part is not true."[56] }