A white woman from Mississippi whose accusation of Emmett Till in 1955 led to his murder has passed away. Carolyn Bryant Donham’s passing at the age of 88 concludes a chapter on one of the most notorious lynchings in American history.
Up until one year prior to her death, prosecutors pursued charges against her for the murder of 14-year-old Till.
Last year, they were unable to persuade a grand jury to indict her for kidnapping and manslaughter.
The Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute stated in a statement that they “wish mercy on her soul” while regretting that she never accepted responsibility for her role in Till’s murder.
“While the world witnessed the horrors of racism and the real consequences of hatred in Emmett’s murder, it will never see remorse or accountability for his death.”
The Chicago youngster was visiting family in Money, Mississippi when he entered a store where Donham, then 21 years old, worked.
Donham accused him of making inappropriate advances and tormenting her in the store while she was alone.
Her husband and brother-in-law kidnapped the child at gunpoint, subjected him to torture, and dumped his battered corpse in a river.
Mamie Till Mobley insisted on an uncovered casket at Till’s funeral so that everyone could see what had been done to him. The publication of photographs of his mutilated remains horrified the nation.
Roy Bryant and JW Milam, the two kidnappers, were arrested for the murder, but an all-white jury swiftly acquitted them.
They later admitted to the murder in a magazine interview, but US law prevented a retrial. Both have passed away.
Thursday, a coroner verified that Donham passed away in the Louisiana town of Westlake.
Rev Wheeler Park Jr., Till’s cousin and the last surviving witness to his abduction, expressed his condolences to her family, stating,
“I recognize that any loss of life is tragic and harbor no ill will or animosity toward her.”
Even though no one will be held accountable for the death of my cousin and closest friend, we are all responsible for overcoming racial injustice.
Carolyn Brant testified during the trial against her husband and his half-brother that Till had seized her hand and made a sexual advance.
She renounced the claim in an interview with a Yale historian in 2008, reportedly stating,
“That part is not true.”
The admission prompted a reexamination of her case by the Department of Justice, but when explicitly questioned by investigators, she denied having lied during the trial.
Carolyn Brant was never arrested for his involvement in the events leading up to the lynching.
In June 2022, however, a group investigating the courthouse’s basement discovered an outstanding arrest warrant charging Bryant, Milam, and Donham with Till’s kidnapping.
Despite the fact that the warrant was made public at the time, the then-sheriff told reporters he did not want to “bother” a mother with two small children at home.
When she made her accusation against Till, Carolyn Brant wrote in an unpublished memoir obtained by the Associated Press, she did not know what would happen to him.
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