‘STEPPING STONE’

Emmett Till’s Family Wants His Accuser Charged With Kidnapping

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation into Till’s death, but a warrant for kidnapping was never dismissed.

The family of Emmett Till wants someone held responsible for the Black teen’s kidnapping and subsequent lynching at the hands of racist white men in 1955 Mississippi. The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation into Till’s death, and now, his family wants the feds to prosecute the white woman who claimed Till inappropriately whistled at her. Carolyn Bryant Donham was listed as a person of interest in Till’s kidnapping, but she was never arrested or charged with any crime. At the time, authorities claimed they didn’t want to bother Donham because she had younger children to tend to at home. But a kidnapping warrant for Donahm was never dismissed, and Till’s family believes she should be arrested and ultimately held accountable for her role in Till’s death. “This warrant is a stepping stone toward that,” the family’s lawyer said. “Because warrants do not expire, we want to see that warrant served on her.”