HankT
State Researcher
imported post
Clearest case of self-defense I ever did see....
Service held for black voter shot 61 years ago
The Associated Press - BUTLER, Ga.
July 22, 2007
A memorial service was held Saturday for Maceo Snipes, a black man who was slain 61 years ago after he voted.
Snipes was killed in 1946, the day after he became the first African American since Reconstruction to cast a ballot in Taylor County.
The ceremony, held in the town where he was slain, involved a military honor guard bearing an empty casket and a congregation singing "I'll Fly Away."
"He died a sad death at the hands of somebody wanting to kill a person who voted," said Bishop Felix Snipes, who was 6 years old when his cousin was killed. "Yes, it was horrible, but one day it will come to light."
Snipes, a farmer, was 34 when he enlisted in the Army in 1943. He was decorated after serving in the Pacific and honorably discharged when he came home in 1945. He fought in a segregated Army and returned to segregated Georgia. But in 1946, after a lengthy court case, blacks were given the right to vote.
Snipes voted on July, 17, 1946. One day later, he was shot in front of the family home. Three days later, he died. No one was ever convicted of the slaying.
"Out there somewhere in the woods of Taylor County there's a body, and we won't stop until we finish the mission," said Ed DuBose of the Georgia NAACP.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Prison & Jail Project organized the services, held in the sanctuary of the Church of God in Christ outside of Butler.
The casket was empty except for a black and white photo of Snipes. Four sprays of flowers stood around the casket which was draped with an American flag.
"It took 61 years to get this coffin in the door," said DuBose, reminding local officials "there's someone out there who is unaccountable."
John Cole Vodicka of the Prison & Jail Project recalled that four Taylor County men were questioned but a grand jury ruled Snipes' death was self-defense. "Even though he was shot in the back," Vodicka said.
Snipes was given a symbolic burial on family land near the church. Seven white soldiers from Fort Benning gave a 21-gun salute and a lone bugler played taps. After carefully folding the flag that covered the coffin, an Army sergeant presented it to Felix Snipes and his family.
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=95236
Clearest case of self-defense I ever did see....
Service held for black voter shot 61 years ago
The Associated Press - BUTLER, Ga.
July 22, 2007
A memorial service was held Saturday for Maceo Snipes, a black man who was slain 61 years ago after he voted.
Snipes was killed in 1946, the day after he became the first African American since Reconstruction to cast a ballot in Taylor County.
The ceremony, held in the town where he was slain, involved a military honor guard bearing an empty casket and a congregation singing "I'll Fly Away."
"He died a sad death at the hands of somebody wanting to kill a person who voted," said Bishop Felix Snipes, who was 6 years old when his cousin was killed. "Yes, it was horrible, but one day it will come to light."
Snipes, a farmer, was 34 when he enlisted in the Army in 1943. He was decorated after serving in the Pacific and honorably discharged when he came home in 1945. He fought in a segregated Army and returned to segregated Georgia. But in 1946, after a lengthy court case, blacks were given the right to vote.
Snipes voted on July, 17, 1946. One day later, he was shot in front of the family home. Three days later, he died. No one was ever convicted of the slaying.
"Out there somewhere in the woods of Taylor County there's a body, and we won't stop until we finish the mission," said Ed DuBose of the Georgia NAACP.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Prison & Jail Project organized the services, held in the sanctuary of the Church of God in Christ outside of Butler.
The casket was empty except for a black and white photo of Snipes. Four sprays of flowers stood around the casket which was draped with an American flag.
"It took 61 years to get this coffin in the door," said DuBose, reminding local officials "there's someone out there who is unaccountable."
John Cole Vodicka of the Prison & Jail Project recalled that four Taylor County men were questioned but a grand jury ruled Snipes' death was self-defense. "Even though he was shot in the back," Vodicka said.
Snipes was given a symbolic burial on family land near the church. Seven white soldiers from Fort Benning gave a 21-gun salute and a lone bugler played taps. After carefully folding the flag that covered the coffin, an Army sergeant presented it to Felix Snipes and his family.
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=95236