A jury convicted Thomas Blanton of taking part in the Ku Klux Klan’s 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four girls, and he was given four life sentences — one for each girl murdered.
After the verdict was announced, U.S. Attorney Doug Jones announced, “Justice delayed is still justice, and we have it in Birmingham, Alabama.”
Jones told the story of the conviction of both Blanton and Bobby Cherry in his memoir, “Bending Toward Justice.”
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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.
