The Seale Trial

I am taking no sense of retribution from this trial.

Seale was allegedly the perpetrator of a crime most heinous. He was part of a group who beat two young black men and then chained them to heavy objects and threw them, alive, into the Mississippi River. All this in 1964. I guess the others with him are dead by now. But none faced any real time in jail before now. The Feds turned the case over to local authorities, a way of making the crimes/cases disappear.

Thing is, this old man who looks as if he is made of clay has lived a full life since then. I appreciate the cases being brought before courts now - I understand that somethings need time to make them accessible. But what point is there in putting this man in jail now, for life. Life might be about 2 weeks. No, he should be tired, yes. Evidence should be brought to convict him or not. But to put this guyin jail serves no one. The idea is to gain understanding. To learn what happened. Not to send an old man (sick bastard that he is/was) to live in prison for his last days.

Seale on BBC