Although blacks followed the trial closely, they knew that the two white men directly responsible for the shameful act, J.W. Milan and Roy Bryant, would never see a day in jail, even though they admitted in court to the federal crime of kidnapping. (They were acquitted by an all-white jury after an hour of deliberation.) Crimes against blacks seldom led to conviction; instead, the perpetrators were often rewarded for putting “niggers” in their place. And when white men were convicted, which was rare, the punishment was usually just a slap on the wrist. One Mississippi court awarded the family
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