JACKSON — 1963 · Murder
The Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers, the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, was shot dead from ambush outside his home in Jackson on the night of 12 June 1963, hours after President Kennedy's civil rights address was broadcast. The accused, a member of a white supremacist group, was tried twice in 1964, but all-white juries failed to reach a verdict. After documents from Mississippi's secret segregationist commission came to light, the case was reopened, and on 5 February 1994 a racially mixed jury found the defendant guilty; he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Evers's home is now protected as a national monument.
- Date
- 1963
- Place
- Mississippi, USA, Jackson, US
- Category
- Murder
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 32.3395, -90.2338 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 12 June 1963Evers was shot dead outside his home in Jackson.
- 1964The accused was tried twice; both juries deadlocked.
- 1989–1990The case was reopened on the basis of new documents.
- 5 February 1994At a third trial the defendant was convicted and sentenced to life.
- 2019The Evers home was designated a national monument.
Sources
- PBS NewsHour — Medgar Evers case pbs.org ↗
- FBI — Civil Rights in the '60s: Justice for Medgar Evers fbi.gov ↗
- Wikipedia — Medgar Evers en.wikipedia.org ↗
- PBS NewsHour
- FBI
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.