Ex-Klansman Gets 3 Life Terms for 1964 Murders

Statute of limitations for kidnapping had expired, appeals panel rules

(NEWSER) - A federal appeals court has thrown out last year's conspiracy and kidnapping conviction of an ex-Klansman involved in the murders of two black teens in Mississippi in 1964. Lawyers for James Ford Seale said they will seek to have the 72-year-old cancer patient, who was serving three life sentences, freed on bond. "The court didn't reverse it on the facts," the US attorney told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "They reversed it on a technicality." More»

Convicted of kidnapping, 71-year-old faces life in prison

(NEWSER) - A former Klansman was convicted yesterday of conspiracy and kidnapping in the 1964 murder of two black teenagers. The prosecution's star witness was a Klan member who said he and James Ford Seale stuffed the 19-year-olds into their trunk and drowned them in the Mississippi River. The jury deliberated for about 2 hours, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported. More»

Post-Katrina incident left two civilians dead

(NEWSER) - All five New Orleans police officers accused of involvement in post-Katrina shootings on a city bridge have been found guilty. Although the jury did not find that their actions constituted murder, it ruled that the cops violated the victims' civil rights, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune . They all face long prison terms when sentenced on Dec. 14. The shootings left two civilians dead on Danziger Bridge in the hurricane's aftermath. More»

(NEWSER) - A KKK leader and one of his followers must pay $2.5 million in damages for the vicious beating of an American Indian teen in 2006, the Courier-Journal reports. Prosecutors hope the verdict in the civil trial will be economically devastating to the Kentucky-based Imperial Klans of America, the second-biggest Klan organization in the nation. More»

Woman shot as she tries to leave KKK ritual

(NEWSER) - A woman was murdered by a Ku Klux Klan leader after she backed out of an initiation ritual, according to investigators. The unidentified Oklahoma woman, who had been recruited on the internet, was about to join a Louisiana KKK group called the Sons of Dixie Brotherhood. After several rites, including having her head shaved, she tried to leave and was allegedly shot by the head klansman, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. More»