Ellington

The U.S. Department of Justice held a press conference this morning in Washington to announce the formation of a cold-cases division to pursue old civil-rights murders, such as the case of Charles Moore and Henry Dee. Here are his verbatim remarks:

Good morning. I am joined today by FBI Director Bob Mueller, John Jackson of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Richard Cohen of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Stephanie Jones of the National Urban League, and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Wan Kim. One month ago I stood before you and announced an indictment in the abduction and murders of two African-American men in 1964. That indictment came as part of the Department of Justice's efforts to focus on cold cases from the civil rights era.

In 2006, the FBI began its Cold Case Initiative to identify and investigate murders committed during our Nation's Civil Rights era. It is noteworthy as Black History Month concludes that we announce the next phase of this initiative: a more formal partnership with these groups to identify possible additional cases for investigation and to solicit their help. They have already provided us with valuable information from their files and we are committed to following, and will follow, those and future leads wherever they take us. We know that not every case will be resolved. In some cases the perpetrators may already be dead. In some cases we may find no federal jurisdiction. But these unsolved crimes remain on our radar, and through these expanded lines of communication we hope we can bring closure to some of these cases.

If we are to succeed we must work as a team, and the help of our partners will be crucial as we continue to search for the evidence to help us close these cases. Their dedication to this cause has been tireless, and we are proud to work with them on this. As we saw in the case last month, new information – sometimes an innocuous small bit of information -- can be crucial to breaking these decades-old cases. A secret harbored for many years can be the piece of evidence we need to make our case.

I would like to thank Director Mueller for the leadership role played by the FBI, and Assistant Attorney General Kim for the persistence and dedication of his staff in the Civil Rights Division. This effort is a testament to the best traditions of public service and a sign of just how seriously the Department of Justice takes the enforcement of our civil rights laws.

Much time has passed on these crimes; the wounds they left are deep, and many of them still have not healed. But we are committed to re-examining these cases and doing all we can to bring justice to the criminals who may have avoided punishment for so long.

To those individuals who committed these crimes, and who have lived with their guilty consciences for these many years, our message should be clear: You have not gotten away with anything. We are still on your trail.

Previous Comments

ID

131462

Comment

Have fun, guys!

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-02-27T21:00:56-06:00

ID

131463

Comment

ladd, Thanks for sharing the information from the press conference. My parents store was bombed in 1964 and a cab driver parked in front of the store was killed. The ________Evening Post carried a one liner about the tragedy. There was no police investigation and my father was told that he brought this on himself because he attended mass meetings and allowed "freedom Riders-agitators" stay in his home.

Author

justjess

Date

2007-02-28T13:01:44-06:00

ID

131464

Comment

I knew we were run by the Gestapo. I would like to thank Director Mueller for the leadership role played nuff said.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-02-28T13:11:03-06:00

ID

131465

Comment

Kingfish: So, what is your position on all of this? Do you support the idea of ex-Klan or anyone getting away with murders because they were not convicted years ago? I want to know where u are coming from.

Author

Goldenae

Date

2007-03-01T15:06:30-06:00

ID

131466

Comment

I think anyone who has read my posts on this site knows where I am coming from. I'd love to know where you get the idea I support murderers getting away with their crimes.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T15:16:51-06:00

ID

131467

Comment

I asked what your position was. I was not claiming to know, that is why I asked.

Author

Goldenae

Date

2007-03-01T15:20:30-06:00

ID

131468

Comment

I just would like to know why I get asked if I favor ex Klan members getting off on murder and no one else does.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T15:27:10-06:00

ID

131469

Comment

Kingfish has been clear on the site that he supports justice for old murders, including race murders. However, I don't understand his comment up above. He often puts up cryptic posts that he needs to explain before people know what he is trying to say.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-03-01T15:27:13-06:00

ID

131470

Comment

irony Ms ladd. Hint: Mueller.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T15:27:47-06:00

ID

131471

Comment

You're some sort of Gestapo conclusion (or joke?) based on Mr. Mueller's name??? You sure can't complain about being misunderstood, 'Fish. You can't tell a joke for nothin'.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-03-01T15:29:14-06:00

ID

131472

Comment

hehe. I know. You do know who the head of the Gestapo was, right?

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T15:30:45-06:00

ID

131473

Comment

Ok. I dont keep up with his post, so it was confusing to me. But thanks for clearing that up Ms./Mrs. Ladd. When can we expect to hear you on Kim's show again? I can't really stomach him unless there is a sensible opposing view. Kamikaze does well also.

Author

Goldenae

Date

2007-03-01T15:37:34-06:00

ID

131474

Comment

'Fish, the point is that the joke isn't really funny, or particularly "ironic." Kaze is great, Goldenae. I haven't talked to Kim about doing the show, but be sure to tune in for Radio JFP every Friday at noon on WLEZ. Rumor has it that they're streaming the show on their site now if you're out of range.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-03-01T16:01:42-06:00

ID

131475

Comment

no joke. just irony. Head of our FBI has same name as head of Gestapo. I would like to know the CL's criteria for declaring the hunt for those that committed these murders to be over though.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T16:05:57-06:00

ID

131476

Comment

Agreed on the CL question. They act like it's up to them.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-03-01T16:12:30-06:00

ID

131477

Comment

Kim's show is good, but Kaze takes it up to the next level! I really prefer listening when Kaze is in the studio. He's really a natural.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-03-01T18:28:55-06:00

ID

131478

Comment

Should I pull out my WWII history lesson here? You're not totally correct about Muller's role. Aside from that, I hope Bob has tons of fun upsetting the Klan. Good Luck!

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-03-01T19:27:25-06:00

ID

131479

Comment

Forgive me for not knowing where WLEZ is on the dial.

Author

Goldenae

Date

2007-03-01T23:16:58-06:00

ID

131480

Comment

103.7

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-03-01T23:19:31-06:00

ID

131481

Comment

I have seen different spellings of it Irong.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-03-01T23:44:09-06:00

ID

131482

Comment

True, I was going to play WWII History Geek however and point out that Muller wasn't the only leader. :) It's moot to the discussion, however.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-03-02T08:20:42-06:00