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| 'Mississippi Burning' killer and former Ku Klux Klan leader dies in prison | 'Mississippi Burning' killer and former Ku Klux Klan leader dies in prison |
| (13 days later) | |
| Edgar Ray Killen, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who was convicted for the 1964 “Mississippi Burning” killings of three civil rights workers, has died in prison at the age of 92. | Edgar Ray Killen, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who was convicted for the 1964 “Mississippi Burning” killings of three civil rights workers, has died in prison at the age of 92. |
| Killen was serving three consecutive 20-year terms for manslaughter when he died at 9pm on Thursday inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. An autopsy was pending, but no foul play was suspected, a statement from the state’s corrections department said. | Killen was serving three consecutive 20-year terms for manslaughter when he died at 9pm on Thursday inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. An autopsy was pending, but no foul play was suspected, a statement from the state’s corrections department said. |
| Killen’s conviction came 41 years after James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, all in their 20s, were ambushed and killed by Klansmen. | Killen’s conviction came 41 years after James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, all in their 20s, were ambushed and killed by Klansmen. |
| The three “Freedom Summer” workers had been investigating the burning of a black church near Philadelphia, Mississippi. A deputy sheriff in Philadelphia had arrested them on a traffic charge, then released them after alerting a mob. | The three “Freedom Summer” workers had been investigating the burning of a black church near Philadelphia, Mississippi. A deputy sheriff in Philadelphia had arrested them on a traffic charge, then released them after alerting a mob. |
| Mississippi’s then-governor claimed their disappearance was a hoax, and segregationist Senator Jim Eastland told President Lyndon Johnson it was a “publicity stunt” before their bodies were dug up. | Mississippi’s then-governor claimed their disappearance was a hoax, and segregationist Senator Jim Eastland told President Lyndon Johnson it was a “publicity stunt” before their bodies were dug up. |
| The killings shocked the nation, paved the way for the landmark civil rights act of 1964 and were dramatised in the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning. | The killings shocked the nation, paved the way for the landmark civil rights act of 1964 and were dramatised in the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning. |
| Killen, a part-time preacher and lumber mill operator, was 80 when a Neshoba County jury of nine white people and three black people convicted him of three counts of manslaughter on 21 June 2005. | Killen, a part-time preacher and lumber mill operator, was 80 when a Neshoba County jury of nine white people and three black people convicted him of three counts of manslaughter on 21 June 2005. |
| Killen was the only person to face state murder charges. | Killen was the only person to face state murder charges. |
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