‘SERVE IT AND CHARGE HER’

Emmett Till’s Family Demand an Arrest After Unserved Warrant Is Found 66 Years Later

The unserved warrant meant for Carolyn Bryant Donham was found in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse.

Though justice wasn’t served more than half a century ago when Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered, a document recovered last week has reignited hope among his family members. A team searching for evidence found an unserved warrant dated August 29, 1955, in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill confirmed to the Associated Press Wednesday. It was meant for Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman who claimed Till whistled at her, which allegedly led a group of white men—including her husband—to lynch him. Charges were never brought against Donham. “Serve it and charge her,” Till’s cousin’s daughter Teri Watts told the AP. Law professor Ronald J. Rychlak said it’s possible the warrant could establish probable cause to charge. Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks said he would discuss the warrant with the D.A. and go from there.