In light of the news of the death of Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman whose accusations led to the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955, a family member who was in the room with Till when was abducted is speaking out.
Despite Emmett being horribly beaten to the point of being unrecognizable when his body was found days later in a river, Parker says there's no animosity toward Bryant.
Rev. Parker released a statement that read, "Our hearts go out to the family of Carolyn Bryant Donham. As a person of faith for more than 60 years, I recognize that any loss of life is tragic and don't have any ill will or animosity toward her. Even though no one now will be held to account for the death of my cousin and best friend, it is up to all of us to be accountable to the challenges we still face in overcoming racial injustice."
Evidence indicates that Bryant identified Till as the person who whistled at her at her parents' grocery store to her then-husband, Roy Bryant. Later that evening, Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from his great-uncle's home while armed. The men then tortured and mutilated Till before shooting him in the head and throwing his body in the Tallahatchie River.
The men were tried and acquitted of Till's murder by an all-white jury, but they later admitted to the crime a year later in an interview with Look magazine. Last year, an unserved warrant was found in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse for Carolyn Bryant, but a grand jury declined to indict her for Till's murder.
Source: ABC 7
