June 26, 2020 - Blanton dies in prison of natural causes, according to a statement released by Alabama Gov. 2. In the weeks following the September 4 integration of public schools, three additional bombs were detonated in Birmingham. - Riots break out, and two African-American boys, Virgil. [83] He expressed regret that the state was unable to request the death penalty in this case, as the death penalty in effect in the state in 1963 had been repealed. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. The four individuals named in the FBI report were Blanton, Cash, Chambliss, and Cherry. 1963 Birmingham church bombing From left, 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley were killed while attending Sunday services.. The bomb detonated at 10:19 a.m., killing Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collinsall 14 years oldand 11-year-old Denise McNair. 9:01 AM EDT, Wed September 7, 2022, A grieving relative is led away from the site of the. [13][15], Civil Rights activists and leaders in Birmingham fought against the city's deeply-ingrained and institutionalized racism with tactics that included the targeting of Birmingham's economic and social disparities. 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. [75] But at a pre-trial hearing on October 18,[76] Judge Wallace Gibson ruled that the defendant would be tried upon one count of murderthat of Carol Denise McNair[76]and that the remaining three counts of murder would remain, but that he would not be charged in relation to these three deaths. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Chris McNair, the father of one of four young girls killed in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church, died Wednesday. Their deaths made all of us focus upon the ugliness of those who would punish people because of the color of their skin. [33], Between 14 and 22 additional people were injured in the explosion,[34][35] one of whom was Addie Mae's younger sister, 12-year-old Sarah Collins. He became a paid FBI informant in 1961. At least 14 others are injured in the explosion, including Sarah Collins, the 12-year-old sister of victim Addie Mae Collins, who loses an eye. [48]:272, The service for Carole Rosamond Robertson was held at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. [44][46]), Some civil rights activists blamed George Wallace, Governor of Alabama and an outspoken segregationist, for creating the climate that had led to the killings. On November 14, 1977, Robert Chambliss, then aged 73, stood trial in Birmingham's Jefferson County Courthouse. Within 24 hours of the bombing, a minimum of five businesses and properties had been firebombed and numerous carsmost of which were driven by whiteshad been stoned by rioting youths.[17]. "[97] Cross testified that she would usually have accompanied her friends into the basement lounge to change into robes for the forthcoming sermon, but she had been given an assignment. Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church. A policeman and a neighbor had each testified that Chambliss was at the home of a man named Clarence Dill on that day. It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. [127] In this role, Rowe acted as an agent provocateur between 1961[128] and 1965. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. [58] By the time of the announcement, Herman Cash had also died; however, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry were still alive. Continuing to maintain his innocence, Chambliss died in prison in 1985. On September 15, 1963, in Birmingham, a bomb exploded on 16th street Baptist Church at 10:22 A.M. During a Sunday school session the ground floor of the church collapsed, four girls out of nearly 200 people died, some. appreciated. An estimated 2,000 black people converged on the scene in the hours following the explosion. 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. Through these rulings, Mitchell Burns was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. 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. Discovery Company. Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was brought to trial in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett on April 24, 2001. Following these closing arguments, the jury retired to consider their verdicts. August 3, 2016 - Blanton, the last living convicted bomber, is denied parole. [37] In her later recollections of the bombing, Collins would recall that in the moments immediately before the explosion, she had watched her sister, Addie, tying her dress sash. Show all. [73]:574, Chambliss appealed his conviction, as provided under the law, saying that much of the evidence presented at his trialincluding testimony relating to his activities within the KKKwas circumstantial; that the 14-year delay between the crime and his trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial; and the prosecution had deliberately used the delay to try to gain an advantage over Chambliss's defense attorneys. Aftermath of the Birmingham Church Bombing, Lasting Impact of the Birmingham Church Bombing, information concerning the identity of the bombers. The girls, all black members of Birmingham's 16 th Street Baptist Church, were killed in 1963 when a white supremacist planted a bomb in the church on a Sunday morning. [25] According to one survivor, the explosion shook the entire building and propelled the girls' bodies through the air "like rag dolls". Sarah Jean Collins, 12, lost an eye in the blast. As part of a revival effort by states and the federal government to prosecute cold cases from the civil rights era, the state conducted trials in the early 21st century of Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Cherry, who were each convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 and 2002, respectively. [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. [62], The FBI encountered difficulties in their initial investigation into the bombing. 1965 - Suspects emerge: Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss and Herman Frank Cash, all Ku Klux Klan members. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". Investigative records show that Rowe had twice failed polygraph tests when questioned as to his possible involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and two separate, non-fatal explosions. In response to the church bombing, described by the Mayor of Birmingham, Albert Boutwell, as "just sickening", the Attorney General dispatched 25 FBI agents, including explosives experts, to Birmingham to conduct a thorough forensic investigation. No one ever really has known and no one will until this city becomes part of the United States. I don't know why I'm going to jail for nothing. 101 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 101 16th street baptist church bombing stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Family and friends of Carole Robertson attend graveside services for her in Birmingham on September 17, 1963. Just before this the church had 292 Words 2 Pages Satisfactory Essays Read More. Oval photographs and brief biographies of the four girls killed in the explosion, the most seriously injured survivor (Sarah Collins), and the two teenage boys who were shot to death later that day also adorn the base of the sculpture. Baxley acknowledged that typical juries in 1960s Alabama would have likely leaned in favor of both defendants, even if these recordings had been presented as evidence,[126] but said that he could have prosecuted Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry in 1977 if he had been granted access to these tapes. [55][56], As the girls' coffins were taken to their graves, King directed that those present remain solemn and forbade any singing, shouting or demonstrations. Baxley also gathered evidence proving Chambliss had purchased dynamite from a store in Jefferson County less than two weeks before the bomb was planted,[72] upon the pretext the dynamite was to be used to clear land the KKK had purchased near Highway 101. Following the bombing, the 16th Street Baptist Church remained closed for over eight months, as assessments and, later, repairs were conducted upon the property. They forever changed the face of this state and the history of this state. One of the defense witnesses was a retired chef named Eddie Mauldin, who was called to testify to discredit prosecution witnesses' statements that they had seen Blanton in the vicinity of the church before the bombing. At times as hard as crucible steel, but, today, you do not walk alone. distributed by home box office studio productions, 102a east 23rd street, new york, ny 10010, phone (212) His family confirmed his death Wednesday in a . Four young black girls-Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley, and Carole Robe [36] She had 21 pieces of glass embedded in her face and was blinded in one eye. September 12, 2013 - Fifty years after the bombing, all four girls who died are awarded Congressional Gold Medals. I did not see it happen, but I heard it happen and I felt it happen, just a few blocks away at my father's church. The crime was calculated, not random. Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. Rudolph, known as the "Fifth Little Girl" for surviving the. 2. 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. Within one week of being sworn into office, Baxley had researched original police files into the bombing, discovering that the original police documents were "mostly worthless". That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. The city of Birmingham, Alabama, was founded in 1871 and rapidly became the states most important industrial and commercial center. The bombings targeted African-American leaders of the Birmingham campaign. I haven't done anything! "I will never stop crying thinking about it," said Cross, 68, who was 13 at the time. Following the opening statements, the prosecution began presenting witnesses. 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.". (Thomas Blanton had owned a Chevrolet in 1963;[106] neither Chambliss, Cash nor Cherry had owned such a vehicle. Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do? [20], One of the key witnesses to testify on behalf of the prosecution was the Reverend Elizabeth Cobbs, Chambliss's niece. Some 44 years later, inquests into the deaths have. The 'who' is every little individual who talks about the 'niggers' and spreads the seeds of his hate to his neighbor and his son What's it like living in Birmingham? The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing was a devastating event. Life is hard. The files were sealed by order of J. Edgar Hoover. 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