Jackson Free Press

The federal kidnapping and conspiracy trial of former Klansman James Ford Seale is now set to begin Wednesday, May 30, with jury selection in a federal courtroom in Jackson. Seale is accused of kidnapping Charles Moore and Henry Dee, who were beaten and tortured by the Klan, and then dumped into an offshoot of the Mississippi River, prosecutors believe. The Jackson Free Press helped revive interest in the case in July 2005 by traveling back to Franklin County with Thomas Moore, the brother of Charles Moore, and a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. filmmaker, where the team discovered that Seale was still alive from two sources. That information helped convinced U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton to jumpstart the investigation, leading to indictments in January 2007. A full archive of the JFP's coverage of this case and other Klan activity in the area is available on the JFP's Road to Meadville blog. JFP reporters will be blogging daily about the trial on the same blog. The JFP's July 2005 original award-winning story about Moore's journey home, "I Want Justice, Too" is available here.

Previous Comments

ID

131539

Comment

Yeah, I heard the trial was moved up a day because the judge was finishing up another case. I look forward to your comments about what's going on down there.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-05-28T16:36:36-06:00

ID

131540

Comment

Our folks at the courthouse tell us jury selection is underway. Kate called and said one guy didn't want to serve on the jury because he wanted to take care of chickens. That struck me as good a reason as any. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-05-30T10:03:34-06:00

ID

131541

Comment

Kate called and said one guy didn't want to serve on the jury because he wanted to take care of chickens. That struck me as good a reason as any. ;-) Well, if raising chickens brings home the bacon, then there's no need for anyone to beef about it. LOL I'll be here all week. :-P

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-05-30T10:35:16-06:00