On this day in 2003, a federal jury in Jackson convicted Ernest Avants of murder — the first such charges connected to a civil rights-era killing.
On this day in 2003 by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today February 28, 2024 Feb. 28, 2003 Ernest Avants in his 1967 arrest photograph A U.S. District Court jury in Jackson, Mississippi, convicted Ernest Avants of murder — the first federal murder charges connected to the pursuit of unpunished killings from the civil rights era. Avants received a life sentence for joining other Klansmen in killing an African-American handyman, Ben Chester White, near Natchez, Mississippi.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials.
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