birmingham church bombing victims autopsy

C.E. The day following the bombing, a young white lawyer named Charles Morgan Jr. addressed a meeting of businessmen, condemning the acquiescence of white people in Birmingham toward the oppression of Blacks. Outrage over the incident and the violent clash between protesters and police that followed helped draw national attention to the hard-fought, often-dangerous struggle for civil rights for African Americans. [11] The intentional scope of these activities was to see the end of segregation across Birmingham and the South as a whole. Pallbearers load a coffin into a hearse at a funeral for victims of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham, Alabama, late September, 1963. All Rights Reserved. [83], In his closing argument before the jury on November 17,[84] Baxley acknowledged that Chambliss was not the sole perpetrator of the bombing. His testimony was restricted to the areas of the recordings permitted into evidence. Fifteen sticks of dynamite were planted in the church basement, underneath what turned out to be the girls restroom. This group had previously been linked to several bomb attacks at Black-owned businesses and the homes of Black community leaders throughout the spring and summer of 1963. [127], When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Cherry motioned to the prosecutors and stated: "This whole bunch lied through this thing [the trial]. [38] Another sister of Addie Mae Collins, 16-year-old Junie Collins, would later recall that shortly before the explosion, she had been sitting in the basement of the church reading the Bible and had observed Addie Mae Collins tying the dress sash of Carol Denise McNair before she returned upstairs to the ground floor of the church. Did you know? In Birmingham, attorney Charles Morgan, Jr. spoke before the Birmingham Young Men's Business Club, identifying the people responsible for the attack. Each received a $100 fine (the equivalent of $972 as of 2023[update]) and a suspended 180-day jail sentence. Click May 10, 2019 at 11:37 p.m. EDT. In this speech, Morgan lamented: "Who did it [the bombing]? [31] The pastor of the church, the Reverend John Cross, recollected in 2001 that the girls' bodies were found "stacked on top of each other, clung together". Officially, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remained unsolved until after William Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama in January 1971. (The physical description by witnesses of this person varied, and could have matched either Bobby Cherry or Robert Chambliss. Efforts to prosecute the other three men believed responsible for the bombing continued for decades. While in jail, King wrote a letter to local white ministers justifying his decision not to call off the demonstrations in the face of continued bloodshed at the hands of local law enforcement officials. [73] Baxley formally reopened the case in 1971. ", "Beauty from the Ashes of 16th Street Baptist Church", "Church Bomb Kills 4 Girls in Ala.; 2 Die in Fighting", "The Speech That Shocked Birmingham the Day After the Church Bombing", "Ceremony recalls victim of civil rights violence", "First of 4 Birmingham Bomb Victims is Buried", "We Shall Overcome Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement", "Funeral Speakers Say Deaths Of Three Children Not In Vain", "Martin Luther King's 'Eulogy for the Martyred Children', "The ghosts of Alabama: After 37 years, two men are indicted for a bombing that transfigured the civil rights movement", "Birmingham Klansman Guilty in Dynamite Case; Two Other Defendants Face Trial Today--Dr. King Gives City an Ultimatum on Jobs", "FBI: A Byte Out of History: The '63 Baptist Church Bombing", "Murderer Of 4 Birmingham Girls Found Guilty (38 yrs later)", "Former Klansman convicted in deadly 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama church", "Cherry convicted: Jury verdict in bombing hailed as 'justice finally', "Birmingham Church Bombing Conviction Ended an Obsession of the Prosecutor", "Bill Baxley Reflects on 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing", "Former Prosecutor Says FBI Delayed Alabama Conviction", "Former Klansman Convicted In Bombing Death", "Another Redemption: Baxley in Birmingham", "Puzzle Pieces Put Together in Bombing Case", "Alabamian Guilty in '63 Blast that Killed Four Girls", "Robert E. Chambliss, Figure in '63 Bombing", "Former Klansman convicted of deadly Alabama church bombing 40 years on", "Klansman convicted of killing black girls", "As Church Bombing Trial Begins in Birmingham, the City's Past Is Very Much Present", "Former Klansman who was Key Witness at Bombing Trial Dies", "Church Bombing Verdict Hinges on how Jurors Understand Tapes", "Jury Hears More Old Tapes in Church Bombing Trial", "Birmingham church bomber guilty, gets four life terms", "Testimony Concludes in Trial On Birmingham Church Blast", "Former Klansman Convicted in 1963 Church Bombing", "Former Klansman faces prison in 1963 Killings", "1 Klansman survives Ala church bombing cases", "Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bomber up for parole next month", "16th Street Baptist Church bomber Thomas Blanton denied parole", "Thomas Blanton, Who Bombed a Birmingham Church, Dies at 82", "Witnesses Say Ex-Klansman Boasted of Church Bombing", "Design of Bomb Still Uncertain 38 Years Later", "Explosives Expert Testifies In Church Bombing Trial", "Prosecutor Says Justice 'Overdue' in '63 Bombing", "More Than Just a Racist? Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), Four Black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham church bombing, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/four-black-schoolgirls-killed-in-birmingham, The Four Seasons earn their first #1 hit with Sherry, Tanks introduced into warfare at the Somme, Muhammad Ali wins world heavyweight championship, First trenches are dug on the Western Front, South Vietnamese forces retake Quang Tri City, The first transcontinental mail service to San Francisco begins, Famous Marilyn Monroe skirt scene filmed, A Bible school instructor abducts a teenage girl. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [60] By the time of the announcement, Herman Cash had also died; however, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry were still alive. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. After the blast, Christ's head was blown away. The bells of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., tolled Monday in remembrance of the four girls who were killed in a bombing at the church 40 years ago. A well-known Klan member, Robert Chambliss, was charged with murder and with buying 122 sticks of dynamite. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. A key point contested as to the validity of the audiotapes being introduced into evidence, outside the hearing of the jury, was the fact that Cherry had no grounds to contest the introduction of the tapes into evidence, as, under the Fourth Amendment, neither his home or property had been subject to discreet recording by the FBI. [107], The trial lasted for one week. He said that the sections introduced as evidence were of poor audio quality, resulting in the prosecution presenting text transcripts of questionable accuracy to the jury. Grief will not prevail. Original caption: Alabama-Birmingham-bombings-Body being removed at 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. She spoke with News4's Molette Green about her fight for. "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, who was 13 at the . Cochran also added that although the evidence to be presented would not conclusively show that Cherry had personally planted or ignited the bomb, the combined evidence would illustrate that he had aided and abetted in the commission of the act. A section of wire and remnants of red plastic were discovered there, which could have been part of a timing device. A fifth girl who had been with them, Sarah Collins (the younger sister of Addie Mae Collins), lost her right eye in the explosion, and several other people were injured. [110], The jury deliberated for two and a half hours before returning with a verdict finding Thomas Edwin Blanton guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. [93] In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. September 15, 1963 - A bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four African-American girls during church services. "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, 68, who was 13 at the time. The case was again reopened in 1980, 1988 and 1997, when two other former Klan members, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry, were finally brought to trial; Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002. Chris McNair and his wife, Maxine, hold a photograph of their daughter Denise the day after her death in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham . The force crumbled a stone-and-masonry wall 30 inches thick and left a crater more than 2 feet deep.Retired FBI bomb specialist Charles Killion testified that agents never determined what kind of explosive was used or how the bomb was triggered. Pictured here are Johnny Robinson (left), 16, and Virgil Ware, 13. [21] The anonymous caller simply said the words, "Three minutes"[22]:10 to Maull before terminating the call. Investigators also gathered numerous witness statements attesting to a group of white men in a turquoise 1957 Chevrolet who had been seen near the church in the early hours of the morning of September 15. Another 22 people were injured in the explosion. [30] Another victim was killed by a piece of mortar embedded in her skull. 1963 terrorist attack in Birmingham, Alabama 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Part of the Civil Rights movementand the Birmingham campaign The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left) Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11) Location Birmingham, Alabama Coordinates [98] The following day, both men surrendered to police. The Robertsons made funeral arrangements before learning that the other families were planning a combined service with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, delivering the eulogy. Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. In the rubble of the 16th Street Baptist Church were the bodies of Addie Mae Collins, 14, Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14. Cherrys trial was delayed after judges ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. [7] Herman Cash died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Two young Black men were killed that night, one by police and another by racist thugs. The bombing occurred days after black students began attending Birmingham city schools. Meanwhile, public outrage over the bombing continued to grow, drawing international attention to Birmingham. "[45], Two more Black youths, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware, were shot to death in Birmingham within seven hours of the Sunday morning bombing. Such a lack of evidence isnt unusual in powerful explosions, he said, because bomb components often are destroyed.However, defense attorney Mickey Johnson hammered at the lack of evidence. Farrell Griswold, pastor of Minor Heights Baptist, told the crowd. [115] Blanton was confined in a one-man cell under tight security. The bomb exploded on the east side of the building, where five girls were getting ready for church in a basement restroom. [100] It concluded that vascular dementia had impaired his mind, therefore making Cherry mentally incompetent to stand trial or assist in his own defense.[101]. [111] When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Blanton said: "I guess the Lord will settle it on Judgment Day. 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, terrorist attack in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963, on the predominantly African American 16th Street Baptist Church by local members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). By Rowe's own later admission, while serving as an FBI informant, he had shot and killed an unidentified Black man and had been an accessory to the murder of Viola Liuzzo.[131]. "This bombing of children was a dastardly act.". [99]:ch. "The answer should be, "We all did it." Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. She was 93. . In a 1987 interview focusing upon his recollections of the bombing, Petts recollected: "Naturally, as a father, I was horrified by the deaths of those children." Immediately after the blast, church members wandered dazed and bloodied, covered with white powder and broken stained glass, before starting to dig in the rubble to search for survivors. But by September 20, the FBI was able to confirm that the explosion had been caused by a device that was purposely planted beneath the steps to the church,[59] close to the women's lounge. [117][118], Blanton died in prison from unspecified causes on June 26, 2020.[119]. "[109], Defense attorney John Robbins reminded the jury in his closing argument that his client was an admitted segregationist and a "loudmouth", but that was all that could be proven. By 1963, homemade bombs set off in Birmingham's Black homes and churches were such common occurrences that the city had earned the nickname "Bombingham.". Gov. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. About the recordings made as Blanton conversed with Burns, Robbins emphasized that Burns had earlier testified that Blanton had never expressly said that he had made or planted the bomb. As Birmingham took on the appearance of a battle zone, with hundreds of police, troopers and guardsmen patrolling the streets, another black teen, Johnny Robinson, was shot to death by police. Don Cochran disputed this position, arguing that Alabama law provides for "conspiracies to conceal evidence" to be proven by both inference and circumstantial evidence. The bomb injured at least 20 people and killed four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair. 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]. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. [39], Violence escalated in Birmingham in the hours following the bombing, with reports of groups of Black and white youth throwing bricks and shouting insults at each other. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The other victims were Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson. It was later revealed that the FBI had information concerning the identity of the bombers by 1965 and did nothing. [66] This information was relayed to the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover;[67] however, no prosecutions of the four suspects ensued. He seldom spoke of his involvement in the bombing, shunned social activity and rarely received visitors. Three day after the bombing, funeral services were held for Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, both 14, and 11-year-old Denise McNair. She died Sunday at 93. Four black girls. Robinson died before reaching the hospital. Though Birminghams white supremacists (and even certain individuals) were immediately suspected in the bombing, repeated calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice went unanswered for more than a decade. "Darkness will not last forever. In May 2000, the FBI publicly announced their findings that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four members of the KKK splinter group known as the Cahaba Boys. Brogdon also testified that Cherry had told her of his regret that children had died in the bombing, before adding his satisfaction that they would never reproduce. 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. At the base of the sculpture is an inscription of the title of the sermon the four girls were to attend before the bombing"A Love That Forgives". "[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. These demonstrations led to an agreement, on May 8, between the city's business leaders and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to integrate public facilities, including schools, in the city within 90 days. [8] It was the location where students were organized and trained by the SCLC Director of Direct Action, James Bevel, to participate in the 1963 Birmingham campaign's Children's Crusade after other marches had taken place. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. When thousands of Black protesters assembled at the crime scene, Wallace sent hundreds of police and state troopers to the area to break up the crowd. [103], The most crucial piece of evidence presented at Blanton's trial was an audio recording secretly taped by the FBI in June 1964, in which Blanton was recorded discussing his involvement in the bombing with his wife, who can be heard accusing her husband of conducting an affair with a woman named Waylen Vaughn two nights before the bombing. Many of the civil rights protest marches that took place in Birmingham during the 1960s began at the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had long been a significant religious center for the citys Black population and a routine meeting place for civil rights organizers like King. The first of these witnesses was Tom Cook, a retired Birmingham police officer, who testified on November 15 as to a conversation he had had with Chambliss in 1975. Updates? This page was last edited on 20 April 2023, at 15:09. Today marks the 55th anniversary of the tragedy. [11], Black and white residents of Birmingham had access to different public amenities such as water fountains and places of public gathering such as movie theaters. Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement, https://www.britannica.com/event/16th-Street-Baptist-Church-bombing, History Learning Site - 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing, Spartacus Educational - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, BlackPast.org - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, National Park Service - 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963), 16th Street Baptist Church bombing - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The intention was to fill the jail with protesters. The citys police commissioner, Eugene Bull Connor, was notorious for his willingness to use brutality in combating radical demonstrators, union members and any Black citizens. A day after the tragedy, President Kennedy spoke of his "outrage" and "grief" at the Birmingham church bombing. terrorist attack, Birmingham, Alabama, United States [1963]. Before his trial, Chambliss remained free upon a $200,000 bond raised by family and supporters and posted October 18. The Birmingham News. [27] Several other cars parked near the site of the blast were destroyed, and windows of properties located more than two blocks from the church were also damaged. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator.

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