Byron De La Beckwith
Encyclopedia
Byron De La Beckwith, Jr. (November 9, 1920 – January 21, 2001) was an American
white supremacist and Klansman from Greenwood, Mississippi
who was convicted in the 1994 state trial of assassinating the civil rights
leader Medgar Evers
on June 12, 1963.
, the son of Susan Southworth Yerger and Byron De La Beckwith, Sr. De La Beckwith was raised in Colusa, California
, where his father was the town postmaster
. His father died of pneumonia
when he was five years old. One year later, De La Beckwith and his mother settled in Greenwood, Mississippi
, to be near family. Beckwith's mother Susan died of lung cancer
when Beckwith was 12 years old, and was raised by his uncle William Greene Yerger and his wife in Greenwood.
, and served as a machine gunner in the Pacific theater of World War II
. He fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal and was shot in the waist during the Battle of Tarawa
. De La Beckwith was honorably discharged in August 1945. For his service, Beckwith was awarded three Bronze Star medals, two Presidential Unit Citation
s, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
, the Good Conduct Medal
, the World War II Victory Medal
, and the Purple Heart
.
, where he married Mary Louise Williams. The couple settled to his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi, and had a son together.
De La Beckwith married Thelma Lindsay Neff after his divorce from Williams.
, a white supremacist organization based in Greenwood, in the 1954.
organized in 1954 following the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
that school segregation was unconstitutional. Begun in Mississippi, chapters arose in towns across the South, where sometimes prominent citizens used a variety of economic tactics to suppress black activists and sustain segregation; they applied pressure through boycotts, denial of loans and credit, ending jobs and other means, and in Mississippi prevented school integration until 1964.
De La Beckwith became a member, however he thought more direct action was needed. On June 12, 1963, he assassinated NAACP civil rights
leader Medgar Evers
outside Evers' home in Jackson, Mississippi
.
The state twice prosecuted De La Beckwith for murder in 1964, but both trials ended with hung juries. The jurors were all male and all white. Mississippi had effectively disfranchised black voters since 1890, and they were thus prevented from serving as jurors, who were limited to voters. In the second trial, the former Governor Ross Barnett
interrupted the trial while Myrlie Evers, the widow of the activist, was testifying to shake hands with Beckwith. In the 1980s, the Jackson Clarion Ledger published reports of its investigation of the trial, which found that the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
, supported by residents' taxes, had assisted De La Beckwith's attorneys in his second trial by using state resources to investigate members of the jury pool during voir dire.
In January 1966, De La Beckwith, along with a number of other members of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
, was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee
to testify about Klan activities. Although De La Beckwith gave his name when asked by the committee (unlike other witnesses, such as Sam Bowers
, who invoked the Fifth Amendment
in response to that question), he answered no other substantive questions. In the following years, Beckwith became a leader in the segregationist
Phineas Priesthood
, an offshoot of the white supremacist Christian Identity Movement. The group was known for their hostility towards African American
s, Jews, Catholic
s, and foreigners.
According to Delmar Dennis, who acted as a key witness for the prosecution at his 1994 trial, De La Beckwith boasted of his role in the death of Medgar Evers at several KKK rallies and similar gatherings in the years following his mistrials. In 1967, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
.
In 1973, informants alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigations of Beckwith's plans to murder A.I. Botnick, director of the New Orleans-based B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League
, for comments Botnick had made about white southerners and race relations. Following several days of surveillance, Beckwith's car was stopped by New Orleans Police Department
officers as he crossed over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
Bridge. Among the contents of his vehicle were several loaded firearms, a map with directions to Botnick's house highlighted, and a dynamite
time bomb. On August 1, 1975, Beckwith was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder
; he served nearly three years in the Angola Prison in Louisiana from May 1977 until his parole in January 1980.
He appealed the guilty verdict, but the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction in 1997. The court said the 31-year lapse between the murder and De La Beckwith's conviction did not deny him a fair trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. Although Mississippi had a death penalty in 1963, it was unavailable because it and other death penalty laws in force at the time had been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Furman v. Georgia
. Beckwith sought review in the United States Supreme Court, but that Court denied certiorari
.
On January 21, 2001, De La Beckwith died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. He was 80 years old. He had suffered from heart disease
, high blood pressure
and other ailments.
is considered one of the most significant works related to Beckwith's crime. From Jackson, Mississippi
, Welty said later that she felt,
Byron De La Beckwith was the subject of the 1963 Bob Dylan
song "Only a Pawn in Their Game
", which deplores Evers' murder and the racial environment of the South.
In 1991 the murder of Medgar Evers
and failure to convict Beckwith was the basis of the episode entitled Sweet, Sweet Blues
, written by author William James Royce
for the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night
. In the episode, actor James Best
plays a character based on Beckwith, an aging Klansman who appears to have gotten away with murder.
The 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi
tells the story of the murder and 1994 trial. James Woods
portrayed De La Beckwith in an Academy Award
-nominated performance. The prosecution lawyer Robert DeLaughter
was played by Alec Baldwin
. Myrlie Evers was portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg
.
In 2001, Bobby DeLaughter published his memoir of the case and trial, Never Too Late: A Prosecutor’s Story of Justice in the Medger Evers Trial.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
white supremacist and Klansman from Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
who was convicted in the 1994 state trial of assassinating the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
on June 12, 1963.
Early life
De La Beckwith was born in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, the son of Susan Southworth Yerger and Byron De La Beckwith, Sr. De La Beckwith was raised in Colusa, California
Colusa, California
Colusa is the county seat of Colusa County, California. The population was 5,971 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, where his father was the town postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
. His father died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
when he was five years old. One year later, De La Beckwith and his mother settled in Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
, to be near family. Beckwith's mother Susan died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
when Beckwith was 12 years old, and was raised by his uncle William Greene Yerger and his wife in Greenwood.
Military service
In January 1942, De La Beckwith enlisted in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and served as a machine gunner in the Pacific theater of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal and was shot in the waist during the Battle of Tarawa
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa, code named Operation Galvanic, was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region....
. De La Beckwith was honorably discharged in August 1945. For his service, Beckwith was awarded three Bronze Star medals, two Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation
The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy...
s, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was...
, the Good Conduct Medal
Good Conduct Medal
The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States military. The Navy Good Conduct Medal was first issued in 1869, followed by a Marine version in 1896. The Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal was issued in 1923 and the Army Good Conduct Medal in 1941. The Air Force was...
, the World War II Victory Medal
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of...
, and the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
Marriage and family
After serving in the Marine Corps, Beckwith moved to Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, where he married Mary Louise Williams. The couple settled to his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi, and had a son together.
De La Beckwith married Thelma Lindsay Neff after his divorce from Williams.
Career
De La Beckwith worked as a salesman for most of his life, and sold tobacco, fertilizer, wood stoves and a variety of other goods. He attended the Greenwood Episcopal Church of the Nativity and became a member of the White Citizens' CouncilWhite Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
, a white supremacist organization based in Greenwood, in the 1954.
White supremacist activities
The White Citizens' CouncilWhite Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
organized in 1954 following the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
that school segregation was unconstitutional. Begun in Mississippi, chapters arose in towns across the South, where sometimes prominent citizens used a variety of economic tactics to suppress black activists and sustain segregation; they applied pressure through boycotts, denial of loans and credit, ending jobs and other means, and in Mississippi prevented school integration until 1964.
De La Beckwith became a member, however he thought more direct action was needed. On June 12, 1963, he assassinated NAACP civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
outside Evers' home in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
.
The state twice prosecuted De La Beckwith for murder in 1964, but both trials ended with hung juries. The jurors were all male and all white. Mississippi had effectively disfranchised black voters since 1890, and they were thus prevented from serving as jurors, who were limited to voters. In the second trial, the former Governor Ross Barnett
Ross Barnett
Ross Robert Barnett was the governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a States' Rights Democrat.- Early life :...
interrupted the trial while Myrlie Evers, the widow of the activist, was testifying to shake hands with Beckwith. In the 1980s, the Jackson Clarion Ledger published reports of its investigation of the trial, which found that the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission was a state agency directed by the governor of Mississippi that existed from 1956 to 1977, also known as the Sov-Com...
, supported by residents' taxes, had assisted De La Beckwith's attorneys in his second trial by using state resources to investigate members of the jury pool during voir dire.
In January 1966, De La Beckwith, along with a number of other members of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was considered the most militant as well as the most violent Ku Klux Klan in history. They originated in Mississippi in the early 1960s under the leadership of Samuel Bowers, its first Grand Wizard. The White Knights of Mississippi was formed in 1964, and it...
, was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
to testify about Klan activities. Although De La Beckwith gave his name when asked by the committee (unlike other witnesses, such as Sam Bowers
Sam Bowers
Samuel Kenneth Bowers , was a leader of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.-Early life:Bowers was born on August 25, 1924, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Sam Bowers Sr., a salesman, and Evangeline Peyton, daughter of a well-to-do planter...
, who invoked the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
in response to that question), he answered no other substantive questions. In the following years, Beckwith became a leader in the segregationist
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
Phineas Priesthood
Phineas Priesthood
The Phineas Priesthood or Phineas Priests is a Christian Identity movement that opposes interracial intercourse, the mixing of races, homosexuality, and abortion. It is also marked by its anti-Semitism, anti-multiculturalism, and opposition to taxation...
, an offshoot of the white supremacist Christian Identity Movement. The group was known for their hostility towards African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, Jews, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s, and foreigners.
According to Delmar Dennis, who acted as a key witness for the prosecution at his 1994 trial, De La Beckwith boasted of his role in the death of Medgar Evers at several KKK rallies and similar gatherings in the years following his mistrials. In 1967, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking executive officer in Mississippi, right below the governor. The office of lieutenant governor was established when Mississippi became a state, abolished for a few decades in the first half of the 19th century, and restored later...
.
In 1973, informants alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigations of Beckwith's plans to murder A.I. Botnick, director of the New Orleans-based B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, for comments Botnick had made about white southerners and race relations. Following several days of surveillance, Beckwith's car was stopped by New Orleans Police Department
New Orleans Police Department
The New Orleans Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts....
officers as he crossed over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, or the Causeway, consists of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana, United States. The longer of the two bridges is long...
Bridge. Among the contents of his vehicle were several loaded firearms, a map with directions to Botnick's house highlighted, and a dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
time bomb. On August 1, 1975, Beckwith was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
; he served nearly three years in the Angola Prison in Louisiana from May 1977 until his parole in January 1980.
1994 trial for Evers murder
In the 1980s, the reporting of the Jackson Clarion Ledger of the Beckwith trials stimulated a new investigation by the state and ultimately a third prosecution, based on new evidence. The 1994 state trial was held before a jury of eight black and four white jurors; it ended with De La Beckwith's conviction of first-degree murder for killing Medgar Evers. New evidence included testimony of his having boasted of the murder at a Klan rally and to others over the three decades after the crime. The physical evidence was essentially the same as was used during the first two trials.He appealed the guilty verdict, but the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction in 1997. The court said the 31-year lapse between the murder and De La Beckwith's conviction did not deny him a fair trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. Although Mississippi had a death penalty in 1963, it was unavailable because it and other death penalty laws in force at the time had been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
. Beckwith sought review in the United States Supreme Court, but that Court denied certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
.
On January 21, 2001, De La Beckwith died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. He was 80 years old. He had suffered from heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, high blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
and other ailments.
Representation in other media
"Where Is the Voice Coming From?" (1963), a short story by the notable writer Eudora WeltyEudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
is considered one of the most significant works related to Beckwith's crime. From Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, Welty said later that she felt,
"Whoever the murderer is, I know him: not his identity, but his coming about, in this time and place. That is, I ought to have learned by now, from here, what such a man, intent on such a deed, had going on in his mind. I wrote his story--my fiction--in the first person: about that character's point of view."Welty's story was published in The New Yorker (July 6, 1963) soon after De La Beckwith's arrest. So accurate was her portrayal that the magazine changed several details in the story before publication for legal reasons.
Byron De La Beckwith was the subject of the 1963 Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
song "Only a Pawn in Their Game
Only a Pawn in Their Game
"Only a Pawn in their Game" is a song written by Bob Dylan about the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. It was released on Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin album of 1964...
", which deplores Evers' murder and the racial environment of the South.
In 1991 the murder of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
and failure to convict Beckwith was the basis of the episode entitled Sweet, Sweet Blues
Sweet, Sweet Blues
"Sweet, Sweet Blues" is an award winning episode of the NBC drama series In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor as Chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Detective Virgil Tibbs.In the Heat of the Night was based on the 1965 novel by John Ball, which was also the basis for the...
, written by author William James Royce
William James Royce
- Career :TelevisionWilliam Royce began his television career writing for the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night, starring Emmy Award winning actor Carroll O'Connor as Chief William O. Gillespie and Academy Award nominee Howard Rollins as Detective Virgil Tibbs...
for the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 mystery film based on the John Ball novel In the Heat of the Night published in 1965, which tells the story of a black police detective from Philadelphia who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a racist small town in Mississippi. The film won five...
. In the episode, actor James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
plays a character based on Beckwith, an aging Klansman who appears to have gotten away with murder.
The 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi
Ghosts of Mississippi
Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, and James Woods. The plot is based on the true story of the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist...
tells the story of the murder and 1994 trial. James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
portrayed De La Beckwith in an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-nominated performance. The prosecution lawyer Robert DeLaughter
Bobby DeLaughter
Robert "Bobby" DeLaughter is an American Mississippi state prosecutor, judge, and author. He is notable for prosecuting and securing the conviction in 1994 of Byron De La Beckwith, charged with the murder of the civil rights leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963...
was played by Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
. Myrlie Evers was portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
.
In 2001, Bobby DeLaughter published his memoir of the case and trial, Never Too Late: A Prosecutor’s Story of Justice in the Medger Evers Trial.