Sign-In
Cart
Murder in Mississippi: United States v. Price and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Paperback
Series: Landmark Law Cases & American Society
Black American StudiesGeneral Law
ISBN13: 9780700613168
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: Apr 16 2004
Pages: 171
Weight: 0.54
Height: 0.56 Width: 5.54 Depth: 8.64
Language: English
Few episodes in the modern civil rights movement were more galvanizing or more memorialized than the brutal murders of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney--idealists eager to protect and promote the rights of black Americans, even in the deep and very dangerous South. In films like Mississippi Burning and popular folk songs, these young men have been venerated as martyrs. Even so, the landmark legal dimensions of their murder case have until now remained largely lost.
Howard Ball reminds us just how problematic the prosecution of the murderers--all members of the KKK--actually was. When the State of Mississippi failed to indict them, the U.S. tried to prosecute the case in federal district court. The judge there, however, ruled that the federal government had no jurisdiction and so dismissed the case. When the U.S. appealed, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the lower court decision, claiming that federal authorities did indeed have the power to police civil rights violations in any state. United States v. Price (1967) thus produced a landmark decision that signaled a seismic shift in American legal history and race relations, for it meant that local authorities could no longer shield racist lawbreakers.
Ball weaves the tales of victims and perpetrators into a single compelling story in which the legal process becomes as much personal as political. Readers will learn how deputy sheriff Cecil Price and his accomplices planned the execution of the young freedom riders and how prosecutors and judges brought them to justice under conspiracy charges. Along the way, Ball introduces readers to a host of characters from the heyday of the civil rights era--with the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC on one side, and the KKK and its fellow travelers on the other, and politicians sitting squarely on the fence.
Although to this day the murderers have never faced murder charges, United States v. Price emphatically declared that the federal government would no longer tolerate the complicity of local and state authorities in the suppression of the constitutional rights of southern blacks. As we approach the fortieth anniversary of the murders in June 2004, Murder in Mississippi provides a timely and telling reminder of the vigilance democracy requires if its ideals are to be fully realized.
1 different editions
Also available
Murder in Mississippi: United States v. Price and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Ball, Howard
Hardcover
Also in
General Law
Before All Is Said and Done: Practical Advice on Living and Dying Well
Miles, Pat
Watson, Suzanne
Hardcover
With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful
Greenwald, Glenn
Hardcover
Boy with a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner's Fight for Justice
Trounstine, Jean
Paperback
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Murray, Melissa
Hardcover
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
So Ordered: An Originalist's View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country
Alito, Samuel A., Jr.
Hardcover
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah
Hardcover
Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival
Van Der Leun, Justine
Hardcover
Discovering the Club: Piecing Together the Puzzling Network of Parental Pimping, Ritualistic Abuse, and Sex Trafficking
Clack, Cynthia L.
Paperback
Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People
Renan, Daphna
Bowie, Nikolas
Hardcover
North Carolina Notary Public Manual, 2016
Secretary of State
Secretary of State, Nc Department
North Carolina Department of the
Hardcover
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; 2026 Edition: With Statutory Supplement
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits
Morton III, David A.
Paperback
Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions: Get the Most Out of Your Retirement and Medical Benefits
Matthews, Joseph
Paperback
The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America
Galvin Almanza, Emily
Hardcover
Our Minds Were Always Free: A History of How Black Brilliance Was Exploited--And the Fight to Retake Control
Davis, Lisa E.
Hardcover
Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
Williams, Elliot
Hardcover
The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life
Cordalis, Amy Bowers
Hardcover
Searching for Jane Crow: Black Women and Mass Incarceration in America from the Auction Block to the Cell Block
Leflouria, Talitha L.
Hardcover
Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That Changed Legal History
Cohen, Adam
Hardcover
The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System
Berman, Sara J.
Bergman, Paul
Paperback
One in Five: Why Child Sexual Abuse Is Our Biggest Public Health Crisis--And What We Can Do to Stop It
Letourneau, Elizabeth J.
Malone, Luke
Hardcover
Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance
Ferguson, Andrew Guthrie
Hardcover
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief, 3rd Edition
Honemann, Daniel H.
Balch, Thomas J.
Robert, Henry M., III
Paperback
Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement
Canellos, Peter S.
Hardcover
Medical Terminology Made Simple: Easily Learn, Memorize, and Pronounce Medical Terms
Temple, John, MD
Paperback
Oops...That's Illegal!: A Handbook for the Wildly Curious (and the Accidental Outlaw)
Mandell, Mike
Hardcover
The Public Domain: Find and Use Free Content for Your Website, Book, App, Music, Video, Art, and More
Secor, Glen
Paperback
The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America's Lawsuit Factory
Chamblee Burch, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Getting Permission: Using & Licensing Copyright-Protected Materials Online & Off
Stim, Richard
Paperback
When Companies Run the Courts: How Forced Arbitration Became America's Secret Justice System
Ballou, Brendan
Hardcover
The Trustee's Legal Companion: A Step-By-Step Guide to Administering a Living Trust
Zolla, Carol Elias
Buckley, Shaila
Hanks, Liza
Paperback
Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity
Beety, Valena
Hardcover
Living Trusts for Everyone: Why a Will Is Not the Way to Avoid Probate, Protect Heirs, and Settle Estates (Second Edition)
Sharp, Ronald Farrington
Paperback
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Litman, Leah
Paperback
The Constitution Cannot Save Us: Why We Can No Longer Rely on Our Founding Document
Seidman, Louis Michael
Hardcover
Federal Rules of Evidence; 2026 Edition (Casebook Supplement): With Advisory Committee notes, Rule 502 explanatory note, internal cross-references, qu
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Who Seduced the South
Harpootlian, Richard A.
Assael, Shaun
Hardcover
The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings (Deluxe Leatherbound Edition)
Editors of Canterbury Classics
Hardcover
Federal Rules of Evidence; 2026 Edition: With Internal Cross-References
Michigan Legal Publishing Ltd
Paperback
J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2027: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line
Weltman, Barbara
Paperback
Is the Government Legally Killing Us?: Is the Evidence Obvious? How Fear of Death and the Illusion of Freedom Turn Us Into Accomplices to Evil
(Scott Schara), Grace's Dad
Paperback
The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights
Founding Fathers
Paperback
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida
King, Gilbert
Hardcover
Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare & Try a Winning Civil Case
Bergman, Paul
Berman, Sara J.
Paperback
No Loose Ends: The Smart & Slightly Morbid Guide to Estate Planning & End-Of-Life Tasks
Zuckerman, Adam
Hardcover
The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey, the Fbi's Legendary Mindhunter Sheds Light on the Mysteries That Won't Go Away
Olshaker, Mark
Douglas, John
Paperback
Understanding Living Trusts(R): How You Can Avoid Probate, Keep Control, Save Taxes, and Enjoy Peace of Mind
Schumacher, Vickie
Paperback
Iras, 401(k)S & Other Retirement Plans: Strategies for Taking Your Money Out
Slesnick, Twila
Shea, Tracy
Paperback
Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison
Tyler, Gary
Hardcover
Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row (Large Print Edition)
Wright, Lawrence
Paperback
The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History
Prakash, Saikrishna Bangalore
Hardcover
The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States
Jay, John
Hamilton, Alexander
Madison, James
Paperback
Terrible Stuff Damaging Everybody: The True Story of Lies and Libel in Dominion V. Fox
Rosenberg, Ian
Hardcover
55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays, 2nd Edition: With Analysis by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson
Staff of the Harvard Crimson
Paperback
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: How Legal Reformers Accidentally Broke America
Bagley, Nicholas
Hardcover
38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia
Sands, Philippe
Hardcover
Until the Last Yoke Is Broken: The Constitutional Vision of Frederick Douglass
Rebeiro, Bradley N.
Hardcover
Every Californian's Guide to Estate Planning: Wills, Trust & Everything Else
Hanks, Liza W.
Paperback
Little Book of Restorative Justice & Community: Reclaiming Connection and Responsibility for Our Neighbors
Morneau, Caitlin
Wilson, Sheryl
Paperback
The Only Living Trusts Estate Planning Guide: Protect Your Assets, Avoid Probate, Slash Taxes and Secure Your Heirs' Future.
Sterling, Thayer
Paperback
Fireproof: A Five-Step Model to Take Your Law Firm from Unpredictable to Wildly Profitable
Morse, Mike
Nachazel, John
Hardcover
Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science
Jefferson, Jon
Bass, Bill
Paperback
Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law
Whitman, James Q.
Paperback
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Litman, Leah
Hardcover
Contempt of Court: The Turn-Of-The-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism
Curriden, Mark
Phillips, Leroy
Paperback
Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child's Financial Future
Urbatsch, Kevin
Farinas Jones, Jessica
Paperback
The U.S. Constitution - Anti-Federalist Edition
Convention, Constitutional
Adams, Samuel
Henry, Patrick
Paperback