Reps. Nadler and Scott Hold Hearing on Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act

Press Release

Reps. Nadler and Scott Hold Hearing on Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Congressman Bobby Scott, Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security today held a joint hearing on H.R. 923, The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. The hearing is being held on the anniversary of the death of noted civil rights activist Medgar Evers, whose widow, Myrlie Evers Williams appeared before the joint panel.

The Act is named in honor of Emmett Till, a teenager who was brutally murdered and mutilated while on a summer vacation in Money, Mississippi in 1955, and would create in the FBI and the Department of Justice special cold-case units to investigate violations of criminal civil rights statutes in which the act occurred before January 1, 1970 and resulted in death. A mark-up of the bill will immediately follow the hearing.

"We must act - not only to bring these criminals to justice, but to also cleanse our nation of this stain," said Rep. Nadler. "The unsolved case of Emmett Till and other victims of the Civil Rights Movement represent a terrible chapter in our nation's history. While we cannot undo these heinous crimes, we can and must bring the truth to light and demand that justice be served. I want to thank Congressman Lewis for introducing this bill -- his personal experiences from the Civil Rights Movement serve as an inspiration to us all."

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