we say, police brutality. and white folks see that same film, and say to the jury, he resisting arrest . they figure they can kill a black person, the all white jury, they ll find him not guilty. and that s been the practice over the years. the admitted klansman stood stone-faced as the verdict was read, but moments later turned ashen, as the words guilty of capital murder sank in. there were gasps and muffled cries in the packed courtroom, not only from hays family, but the family of michael donald as well. it took the jury 26 minutes to recommend life without parole. judge braxton kittrell will sentence hays on january 19th. in the state of alabama, the way the law works is the jury gets to make the recommendation for sentencing in a capital crime. they can either recommend life without parole or they can recommend death. this particular jury for henry hays recommended life without parole. however, a white judge, in the mid 80s, in mobile alabama, rejected that recommendat
that s why we kept marching and protesting, telling them we ain t taking this lying down. the admitted klansman turned ashen as the words guilty of capital murder sank in. it was the first time since at least the early 1900s that a white had been sentenced to death for a crime committed against a black person in the state of alabama. beulah mae donald is grieving but also seeking justice for her child. this is a black woman, who has just lost her son to lynching, finds the strength to move forward in a civil suit against the klan in alabama. the stakes could not be higher. the body of a black man has been found hanging from a tree in mobile, alabama. lynching is a tool to control and oppress black people. racialized violence is as old as the constitution. klans are not running around with white sheets over their head, but it s still happening. today, people are horrified at the police.