Prosecutor discusses KKK
September 16, 2014
By Tabassum Alinews@kykernel. com
Doug Jones prosecuted two Ku Klux Klan members for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala., during the civil rights movement in 1963. He will speak on Tuesday at 12 p.m. in the Law School Courtroom at the “Justice Delayed Not Justice Denied” event.
At a community event held yesterday at the Imani Baptist Church, Jones took the public, students and UK faculty through the history of Birmingham and the process of successfully convicting the last two members of the KKK involved in the bombing.
Monday was the 51st anniversary of the bombing where four young girls lost their lives.
“I was nine years old when the bomb exploded and I knew the father of one of the girls that died,” Jones said. He also explained how he cut classes to watch the trial and when he heard that the case was being re-opened, he knew it was something he had to do.
Jones played the FBI tape which recorded the confession of the convicts to the audience and showed footage alongside stills of the violence in Birmingham.
Jones also showed images of the Birmingham marches, which were known as “Children Crusades,” as they were led by young children.
He mentioned when he re-opened the case that he did not just look at case files, he looked into the history of Birmingham, which helped him greatly. In addition, he was grateful for the “incredible support” he received throughout the process.
He left inspiring words for law students who attended the event: “Build the case as strong as you can and end it the best you can.”
Law professor Allison Connelly said ”it (was) when America got conscious. It took 40 years for all people involved in the bombing to be prosecuted.”
University president Eli Capilouto said he attended the trial in 2002. He witnessed the testimony of one of the girls’ sisters.
“I attended the trial on three occasions, I didn’t think he had a case,” Capilouto said. “I was so emotional listening to the closing speech I couldn’t speak.”
Connelly requested that Jones speak at UK after hearing him last year at the Baptist Church where the bombing occured.
Law students also got involved in getting funding from Student Government, raising money and organizing the Justice Delayed event.
Jeremy Fugate, who is in his final year in law school, said he wanted to get involved in this event because Jones has “dedicated his life to law.”
“Our legal system only works when everyone is held to the high standards set out in the law and Mr. Jones is one of the pillars in the community that ensures that everyone is held to that standard,” Fugate said. “This is why I wanted to get involved.”
Chapin Elizabeth Fausel, law student and vice president of the Trial Advocacy Board, said, “It is also important for students to hear about the justice system actually serving its purpose, even years after the events themselves.”