TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Department of Justice is revisiting the controversial case of Emmett Till due to new information.
63 years ago, the brutal killing of 14-year-old Emmett Till shocked the country and was one of the catalysts to the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Six decades later, another chapter in the case is open again, this time with what the government saying there is "new information" about the case.
The Till case is one of the many cases that rocked our nation in the pre-civil rights era. Two white men were acquitted of the brutal murder of the teenager, so the case is still unsolved.
Due to the 2007 "Emmett Till" law, government officials are able to go back to pre-1980 civil rights cases and investigate whether these cases were handled justly.
Government officials have not released nature of this "new information"; however, many believe the outcome will have a ripple effect.
"I think that the reopening of the case is important and it is something we need to pay attention to," said Delaitre Hollinger of the National Association for the Preservation of African American History and Culture. "If we're able to find something definitive out reopening the case it might lead to some other cold cases."
Uncovering the new information in the Till case, could be critical for the family and the country's Civil Rights history.
Till's cousin, Wheeler Parker, says the Justice Department has not told Till's family anything about the reopened investigation.
He says they're waiting to get information just like everyone else.
