After watching four hours of the Senate Impeachment trial Wednesday, it seems virtually impossible that anyone who watched the proceedings, including the 100 Senators who are serving as the jury, could not walk away convinced Donald Trump is indeed guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors” in inciting the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.
That said, I suspect very few Trump supporters bothered to tune in. It’s much easier on the conscience to simply look away.
But fair-minded people, having watched the testimony, should be convinced of Trump’s guilt.
But it is another trial, one held almost 66 years ago in Tallahatchie County, that is on my mind now.
As Mark Twain said long ago, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Two trials. The same outcome.
In 1955, it took an all-white jury just 67 minutes to acquit Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam of the murder of Emmett Till, a trial which has become one of the most famous trials in U.S. history and is considered the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.
One juror said after the trial that the deliberations would have been shorter if they hadn’t taken a break to drink pop.
It was obvious, given the short time of deliberation, the jury didn’t bother considering the evidence. They had already made up their minds.
A few months later, LOOK magazine paid Bryant and Milam a few thousand dollars for their story. In that story, both men admitted they killed Till, which was hardly a surprise.
Reporting of the five-day trial showed beyond doubt that Bryant and Milam were guilty. Their lawyers’ main argument was that Till was so badly disfigured that it was impossible to identify the body as Till, which served only to confirm the savagery of the attack.
This week, the Trump impeachment trial is likely to end and, like the Emmett Till trial, the outcome is certain. To convict, 17 Republicans will have to deliver a guilty verdict.
Mississippi Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith have already indicated they have no intention of delivering a guilty verdict. On Monday, they were among 44 Republicans who voted that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional, even though legal scholars, including those from the conservative think tank The Federalist Society, said the impeachment did not violate the constitution.
Like the Till jurors, Wicker and Hyde-Smith have already made up their minds. Neither is likely to need 67 minutes to deliver their not-guilty verdicts, pop breaks or not.
In 1955, Americans were horrified by the jury’s verdict, immediately recognizing it as a miscarriage of justice.
Americans today should be even more outraged by the conduct of Senators like Wicker and Hyde-Smith.
The jurors in the Till trial were simple country people with limited understanding of the judicial process. Wicker and Hyde-Smith are U.S. Senators and should know better.
In the 1955 trial, the key testimony for the prosecution came from Till’s uncle, Mose Wright, from whose home Till was abducted on the night of the murder. In the most compelling moment of the trial, Mose was asked to identify Milam, who Wright said was one of the two men who dragged Till from his home that night.
Wright, aware of the danger of a Black man testifying against a white defendant, rose, pointed toward Milam and said, “There he is.”
Wright feared for his life, but told the truth.
Wicker and Hyde-Smith fear their Trump-supporter bases and the damage a guilty verdict could do to their political careers.
Mose Wright is to Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith what courage is to cowardice.
Decent people were disgusted with the jury’s verdict in 1955.
We should be equally disgusted by this jury today and especially the two Mississippians whose actions mirror those of that Tallahatchie County jury all those long years ago.
Like that jury, Wicker and Hyde-Smith are taking care of their own kind at the expense of justice.
Some things never seem to change.
History still rhymes.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.