Emmett Till

The United States Department of Justice may again reopen its investigation into the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, with the news coming just a week after Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his support for pursuing and prosecuting those involved in the killing who went unpunished.

“He said no one gets a pass,” Emmett’s cousin Deborah Watts, who met with the attorney general, said.

Till’s killers were never convicted. The African-American teenager from Chicago, who was visiting family in Mississippi, was killed three days after he reportedly wolf-whistled at a white woman.

Mamie Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, pauses at her son's casket at a Chicago funeral home. Chicago Sun Times/AP
Mamie Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, pauses at her son’s casket at a Chicago funeral home. Chicago Sun Times/AP

According to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, justice officials are exploring the possibility of reopening the Till case because Carolyn Bryant Donham has admitted she lied when she testified that he touched her — a lie she repeated to the FBI a decade ago.

“The Department is currently assessing whether the newly revealed statement could warrant additional investigation,” acting Assistant Attorney General T.E. Wheeler II wrote U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in a letter. “We caution, however, that even with our best efforts, investigations into historic cases are exceptionally difficult, and there may be insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers to bringing federal charges against any remaining living persons.”