![]() Two others were previously found guilty and later died in prison. Alabamas parole board is scheduled to consider Blanton for early release during a meeting on Aug. Alabama inmate Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., who was among those convicted in the 1963 Ku Klux Klan church bombing that killed four black girls in Birmingham, Ala. "We've got to continue to understand what motivates people in the name of hate."īlanton is the last living person convicted of involvement in the notorious bombing. This undated file photo shows Alabama inmate Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., a one-time Ku Klux Klansman convicted in the 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls in Birmingham, Ala. "That bombing and the deaths of those children remind us so much about what's going on in the country today that we've got to continue to have these dialogues," Doug Jones, the prosecutor who tried and convicted Blanton and another Klansman, told Debbie. "The cold-blooded callousness of his hate crime is not diminished by the passage of time, nor is any punishment sufficient to expunge the evil he unleashed," he said, and added that Blanton has "never shown any remorse whatsoever."Īnd as Debbie told our Newscast unit, "no one spoke on behalf of Blanton" at the hearing. "There's a whole community, hundreds of people, who are suffering from what this man did in anger and hate," McNair said.Īlabama's attorney general, Luther Strange, also lodged an official protest against granting Blanton parole. And justice has finally said he needs to serve his time."Īlong with those who died, McNair spoke about a woman who lost an eye during the bombing and others who were scarred by glass and debris. We hold no ill will or malice against him but we have laws in this country. "He's serving four life terms, and he should continue to serve the four life terms. Relatives of the girls killed spoke against Blantons. Blanton had not been thought to have the Covid-19 virus. And I believe he should continue to serve his justice in prison for the rest of his life. The decision to keep Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 76, imprisoned was met with applause at the hearing. The Alabama Corrections Department did not specify the cause of death, at the Donaldson Correctional Facility, but said that Mr. They're strong and proud, and wonderful people, who waited patiently for 30-some-odd years for justice to be served, and justice was finally served in 2001 in the case of Thomas Blanton. But I’m not responsible for it."I had to watch my parents and their grief all of my life. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. (AP) Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., the last of three one-time Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in a 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls and was the deadliest single. and that’s why I’m here,” Blanton told the television station from St. The decision to keep Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 78, imprisoned was met with applause at the hearing. “I think I was cleverly set up by the government. Alabama’s parole board has decided against freeing a one-time Ku Klux Klansman convicted in a church bombing that killed four black girls more than 50 years ago. Read More FILE-This undated file photo shows Alabama inmate Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., a one-time Ku Klux Klansman convicted in the 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls in Birmingham, Ala. In a 2006 interview with Birmingham station WBRC-TV, he claimed the government used trumped-up evidence and lies to gain his conviction. senator, said in the trial.īlanton proclaimed his innocence years after being sent to prison. “Tom Blanton saw change and didn’t like it,” Jones, now a Democratic U.S. The targeted church was a rallying point for protesters. Attorney Doug Jones, appointed as a special state prosecutor, said Blanton acted in response to months of civil rights demonstrations. ![]() “We were getting ready to be there to oppose it,” said Rudolph’s husband, George Rudolph.ĭuring the trial, then-U.S. Glass fragments remained in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion.Ī parole hearing was scheduled next year for Blanton. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)Ĭollins’ sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the blast but lost her right eye. BIRMINGHAM, AL - JULY 07: 16th Street Baptist Church, site of the SeptemChurch bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on July 7, 2018. ![]()
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