birmingham church bombing victims autopsy

[68] Later the same year, J. Edgar Hoover formally blocked any impending federal prosecutions against the suspects,[69] and refused to disclose any evidence his agents had obtained with state or federal prosecutors.[70]. Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do? The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was examined by director Spike Lee in the Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls (1997). Meanwhile, public outrage over the bombing continued to grow, drawing international attention to Birmingham. 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Photos and Premium - Getty Images [61] These witness statements specifically indicated that a white man had exited the car and walked toward the steps of the church. When a bomb made of dynamite detonated at 10:22 am on September 15, 1963, church members were attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11:00 am church service. Birmingham pub bombings: Who were the victims? - BBC News Investigative records show that Rowe had twice failed polygraph tests when questioned as to his possible involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and two separate, non-fatal explosions. Blanton was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison.Klansman Robert Chambliss was convicted of murder in the bombing in 1977 and died in prison. He referred to testimony given by her father, Chris McNair, about the family's loss, and requested that the jury return a verdict of guilty.[86]. [85] He expressed regret that the state was unable to request the death penalty in this case, as the death penalty in effect in the state in 1963 had been repealed. On May 15,[123] Cross testified that prior to the explosion, she and the four girls killed had each attended a Youth Day Sunday School lesson in which the theme taught was how to react to a physical injustice. Later that day, 13-year-old Virgil Ware, riding on the handlebars of a bicycle in Docena, was shot by two young white men. A policeman and a neighbor had each testified that Chambliss was at the home of a man named Clarence Dill on that day. On September 15, 1963, a bomb explodes during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls: Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Carol Denise McNair (11). Fifteen sticks of dynamite were planted in the church basement, underneath what turned out to be the girls restroom. Although Baxley knew he had insufficient evidence to charge Blanton at this stage, he intended the subpoena to frighten Blanton into confessing his involvement and negotiating a plea deal to turn state evidence against his co-conspirators. Through these rulings, Mitchell Burns was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. This case grew out of the September 15, 1963, bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in which four young black girls were killed and a number of other people injured as a result of the blast which left the church in shambles. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body removed from 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. [29] The explosion was so intense that one of the girls' bodies was decapitated and so badly mutilated that her body could be identified only through her clothing and a ring. Baxley also gathered evidence proving Chambliss had purchased dynamite from a store in Jefferson County less than two weeks before the bomb was planted,[74] upon the pretext the dynamite was to be used to clear land the KKK had purchased near Highway 101. Wallace and Birmingham, meanwhile, faced growing criticism nationwide. A day after the tragedy, President Kennedy spoke of his "outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing. Herman Frank Cash died of cancer in February 1994. Relatives of the slain girls, prosecutor Doug Jones, Alabama Chief Deputy Attorney General Alice Martin, and Jefferson County district attorney Brandon Falls each spoke at the hearing to oppose Blanton's parole. The bomb exploded on the east side of the building, where five girls were getting ready for church in a basement restroom. Chris McNair, father of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victim, dies The bomb injured at least 20 people and killed four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Mr. Cherry, a 71-year-old retired truck driver, is accused of being part of a group of Klansmen who planted a bomb outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a rallying place for civil rights. Resulting in the injury of 14 people and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage. Martin Luther King Jr. said he hoped the deaths "may well serve as the redemptive force that brings light to this dark city.". The deaths in a sense, are on the hands of each of us. [1][2][3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.[4]. [36] She had 21 pieces of glass embedded in her face and was blinded in one eye. Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002; both received life sentences (Cherry died in 2004, Blanton in 2020). After Baxley requested access to the original FBI files on the case, he learned that evidence accumulated by the FBI against the named suspects between 1963 and 1965 had not been revealed to the local prosecutors in Birmingham. Throughout the civil rights movement, Birmingham was a major site of protests, marches, and sit-ins that were often met with police brutality and violence from white citizens. [49], The city of Birmingham initially offered a $52,000 reward for the arrest of the bombers. (Charles Nesbitt/Birmingham News/AP) Until she. Four girls were killed when a bomb exploded at an Alabama church in 1963. You by your suffering have paid another installment in this great thing called freedom," said the Rev. Maxine McNair's 11-year-old daughter, Denise McNair, was the youngest of the four Black girls killed in the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. [41] The Birmingham City Council convened an emergency meeting to propose safety measures for the city, although proposals for a curfew were rejected. A local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan placed bombs at the 16th Street Baptist Church and set them off as Sunday services prepared to commence on the morning of September 15, 1963. [93] In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. (Tom Self/ Birmingham News), Original caption: The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing kills four girls and also leaves a scene of devastation. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. "[124] Johnson reiterated that there was no hard evidence linking Cherry to the bombing, but only evidence attesting to his racist beliefs dating from that era, adding that the family members who had testified against him were all estranged and therefore should be considered unreliable witnesses. Although sections of the recordingpresented in evidence on April 27are unintelligible, Blanton can twice be heard mentioning the phrase "plan a bomb" or "plan the bomb". He was able to build trust with key witnesses, some of whom had been reluctant to testify in the first investigation. C.E. She spoke with News4's Molette Green about her fight for. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. In that important sense, the bombings impact was exactly the opposite of what its perpetrators had intended. "[112], Blanton was sentenced to life imprisonment. Inside the ER where four dead girls were brought 51 years ago today Outrage over the death of the four young girls helped build increased support behind the continuing struggle to end segregationsupport that would help lead to the passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. From left to right: Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; Addie Mae Collins, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14. Two more young African Americans died, and the National Guard was called in to restore order. One of several vehicles severely damaged in the explosion was found to have carried fishing tackle.[122]). At 10:22 a.m. on the morning of September 15, 1963, some 200 church members were in the buildingmany attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11 am servicewhen the bomb detonated on the churchs east side, spraying mortar and bricks from the front of the church and caving in its interior walls. Barbara Ann Cross also testified for the prosecution. [99]:162, The state prosecution had originally intended to try both defendants together; however, the trial of Bobby Cherry was delayed due to the findings of a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. At this service, the Reverend C. E. Thomas told the congregation: "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be lovely, be kind, be innocent. [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. Noting that no timing device was found, he disputed the governments long-held theory the bomb was planted by KKK members hours before the explosion.Mr. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. The Birmingham church bombing shocked the nation during the fight for the Civil Rights. [62][63] At the time, no federal charges were filed against Chambliss or any of his fellow conspirators in relation to the bombing. An unidentified man digs grave for one of the four victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September 1963. [104] He said: "You've got to have a meeting to plan a bomb. [66] This information was relayed to the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover;[67] however, no prosecutions of the four suspects ensued.

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