Local professor discusses the Department of Justice’s decision to close Emmett Till case

On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department’s announced that it closed its investigation into the killing of Emmett Till.

Till was abducted, tortured and brutally murdered in the summer of 1955, during his visit to Money, Mississippi, after a white woman accused Till of making advances at her.

Roy Bryant and his half-brother John William Milam were charged with Till’s death, but a jury found them not guilty. In 2004, the Justice Department reopened the case as part of its Cold Case Initiative, but the investigation ended with a  closed case.

In 2017, new information surfaced suggesting that the woman may have confessed to a professor and the case was reponed.

On Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Hank Klibanoff, an Emory University professor, veteran journalist and the host of the WABE podcast Buried Truths,” talked with program host Rose Scott about the case and the Justice Department’s latest move to close their investigation without federal charges for a second time.

To listen to the full conversation, click the audio player above.