Carolyn Bryant Donham, the 88-year-old woman responsible for the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, has passed away while receiving hospice care for cancer, as confirmed by the Calcasieu Parish coroner’s office.
Recently, an arrest warrant for Donham was discovered, dated August 29, 1955, the day after Till’s lynching, which the family wanted to serve to charge her for her role in the murder. However, a Mississippi grand jury declined, citing insufficient evidence. Till’s cousin, Joshua Harris-Till, expressed that Donham’s death does not bring closure or justice to his family and that the bigger issue remains the flawed justice system.
The passing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act last March made lynching a federal hate crime after over 200 failed proposals. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, more than 4,400 African Americans were lynched in the US between the end of Reconstruction and World War II, often watched by White crowds, with souvenirs even sold.
