United States v. Price
Encyclopedia
United States v. Cecil Price, et al. , also known as the "Mississippi Burning trial" (after the film of that name
), was one of the most famous criminal trials in American
history. The United States
charged a group of 18 men with conspiring in a Ku Klux Klan
plot to murder three young civil rights
workers (Michael Schwerner
, James Chaney
, and Andrew Goodman
) in Philadelphia
, Mississippi
on June 21, 1964 (see Mississippi civil rights workers murders). The trial, conducted in Meridian
, Mississippi with U.S. District Court Judge W. Harold Cox presiding, resulted in convictions of 7 of the 18 defendants.
Not guilty verdicts were returned for:
No verdict was reached for:
was made based on the trial and the events surrounding it, entitled Mississippi Burning
. It starred Gene Hackman
and Willem Dafoe
as two FBI agents who travel to Mississippi
to uncover the events surrounding the murder of three civil rights workers.
Several of the fictitious characters in the movie were based on real-life defendants in the trial. Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (played by Brad Dourif
) was based on Cecil Ray Price
, Sheriff Ray Stuckey (played by Gailard Sartain
) was based on Sheriff Lawrence Rainey, and Frank Bailey (played by Michael Rooker
) was based on Alton W. Roberts. The film also starred R. Lee Ermey
and Frances McDormand
. Although nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, "Mississippi Burning" deeply offended civil rights workers in its heroic portrayal of the FBI. Prior to the 1964 murders, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had frequently been beaten by police while in custody or during peaceful marches. SNCC members had sought protection from the FBI, even suing J. Edgar Hoover
to demand that his agents enforce the 1960 Civil Rights Act. However, FBI agents, many of them Southerners who supported segregation, repeatedly refused to arrest those attacking civil rights workers. Hoover, who thought the civil rights movement to be largely Communist inspired, backed this policy. “We do not wet nurse those who go down to reform the South," Hoover said. As a result, many civil rights workers were savagely beaten while FBI agents did nothing more than take notes. When "Mississippi Burning" then showed the FBI as leaping into action in 1964, civil rights veterans were shocked by the distortion.
Mississippi Burning
Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime drama film loosely based on the FBI investigation into the real-life murders of three civil rights workers in the U.S. state of Mississippi in 1964. The film focuses on two fictional FBI agents who investigate the murders...
), was one of the most famous criminal trials in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charged a group of 18 men with conspiring in a Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
plot to murder three young civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
workers (Michael Schwerner
Michael Schwerner
Michael Henry Schwerner , was one of three Congress of Racial Equality field workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by the Ku Klux Klan in response to their civil rights work, which included promoting voting registration among Mississippi African Americans...
, James Chaney
James Chaney
James Earl "J.E." Chaney , from Meridian, Mississippi, was one of three American civil rights workers who were murdered during Freedom Summer by members of the Ku Klux Klan near Philadelphia...
, and Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman was one of three American civil rights activists murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer in 1964 by members of the Ku Klux Klan.-Early life and education:...
) in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
on June 21, 1964 (see Mississippi civil rights workers murders). The trial, conducted in Meridian
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, Mississippi with U.S. District Court Judge W. Harold Cox presiding, resulted in convictions of 7 of the 18 defendants.
The verdict
Guilty verdicts were returned against:- Cecil PriceCecil PriceCecil Ray Price was linked to the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. At the time of the murders, he was 26 years old and a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi...
, the chief deputy sheriff of Neshoba County - Sam H. Bowers, Jr., of LaurelLaurel, MississippiLaurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, the Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically... - Horace Doyle Barnette, a one-time Meridian salesman
- Jimmy Arledge, a Meridian truck driver
- Billy Wayne Posey, a Williamsville service station operator
- Jimmie Snowden, a Meridian laundry truck driver
- Alton W. Roberts, a Meridian salesman
Not guilty verdicts were returned for:
- Lawrence A. RaineyLawrence A. RaineyLawrence A. Rainey was the elected Sheriff of Neshoba County, Mississippi from 1963 to 1968. He gained notoriety for allegedly being involved in the June 1964 deaths of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman, as depicted in the movie Mississippi Burning...
, the sheriffSheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Neshoba County - Bernard L. Akin, a Meridian housetrailer dealer
- Travis M. Barnette, a Meridian mechanic and half-brother of Horace Doyle Barnette
- James T. Harris, a Meridian truck driver
- Frank J. Herndon, the operator of a Meridian drive-in restaurant
- Olen L. Burrage, the owner of the farm on which the bodies of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman were buried
- Herman Tucker, the builder of the dam in which the bodies were found
- Richard A. Willis, a one-time Philadelphia policeman
No verdict was reached for:
- Edgar Ray KillenEdgar Ray KillenEdgar Ray "Preacher" Killen is a former Ku Klux Klan organizer who conspired in the murders of three civil rights activists—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner—in 1964....
, a fundamentalist minister and sawmill operator, however on June 21, 2005 he was found guilty of 3 counts of manslaughterManslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates... - Ethel Glen Barnett, the Democratic nominee for Neshoba County sheriff
- Jerry McGrew Sharpe, a pulpwood hauler
The jury
An all-white, mostly working-class jury consisting of five men and seven women heard the case. The jurors were:- Langdon Smith Anderson (foreman), a LumbertonLumberton, MississippiLumberton is a city in Lamar and Pearl River Counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
oil exploration operator and member of the State Agricultural and Industrial Board - Mrs. S.M. Green, a Hattiesburg housewife
- Mrs. Lessie Lowery, a Hiwannee grocery store owner
- Howard O. Winborn, a Petal pipefitter
- Harmon W. Rasberry, a Stonewall textile worker
- Mrs. Gussie B. Staton, a Union housewife
- Jessie P. Hollingsworth, a Moss Point electrician
- Mrs. James C. Heflin, a Lake production worker
- Mrs. Nell B. Dedeaux, a Lumberton housewife
- Willie V. Arneson, a Meridian secretary
- Edsell Z. Parks, a Brandon clerk
- Adelaide H. Comer, a cook at an Ocean Springs school cafeteria
Film adaptation
In 1988, a filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
was made based on the trial and the events surrounding it, entitled Mississippi Burning
Mississippi Burning
Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime drama film loosely based on the FBI investigation into the real-life murders of three civil rights workers in the U.S. state of Mississippi in 1964. The film focuses on two fictional FBI agents who investigate the murders...
. It starred Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
and Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as two FBI agents who travel to Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
to uncover the events surrounding the murder of three civil rights workers.
Several of the fictitious characters in the movie were based on real-life defendants in the trial. Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (played by Brad Dourif
Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif is an American film and television actor who gained early fame for his portrayal of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and has since appeared in a number of memorable roles, including the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play franchise, Younger Brother in...
) was based on Cecil Ray Price
Cecil Price
Cecil Ray Price was linked to the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. At the time of the murders, he was 26 years old and a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi...
, Sheriff Ray Stuckey (played by Gailard Sartain
Gailard Sartain
Gailard Sartain is an American comedic and serious actor, often playing characters with roots in the South. He is also an accomplished and successful painter and illustrator.-Early years and education:...
) was based on Sheriff Lawrence Rainey, and Frank Bailey (played by Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
) was based on Alton W. Roberts. The film also starred R. Lee Ermey
R. Lee Ermey
Ronald Lee Ermey is a retired United States Marine Corps drill instructor and actor.Ermey has often played the roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in...
and Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
. Although nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, "Mississippi Burning" deeply offended civil rights workers in its heroic portrayal of the FBI. Prior to the 1964 murders, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had frequently been beaten by police while in custody or during peaceful marches. SNCC members had sought protection from the FBI, even suing J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
to demand that his agents enforce the 1960 Civil Rights Act. However, FBI agents, many of them Southerners who supported segregation, repeatedly refused to arrest those attacking civil rights workers. Hoover, who thought the civil rights movement to be largely Communist inspired, backed this policy. “We do not wet nurse those who go down to reform the South," Hoover said. As a result, many civil rights workers were savagely beaten while FBI agents did nothing more than take notes. When "Mississippi Burning" then showed the FBI as leaping into action in 1964, civil rights veterans were shocked by the distortion.