Jackson needs to find more constructive goal

Published 5:00 am Monday, August 14, 2000

Jesse Jackson is renewing his probe into the tragic death of aMississippi teenager while also renewing his rhetoric of his beliefin Mississippi’s inability to conduct a fair and impartialinvestigation.

Despite two autopsies to the contrary, one by the stateauthorities and one by the family, and both confirmed by a renownedpathologist, plus other evidence that supports the autopsyfindings, Jackson still maintains the teenager’s death was aracially-motivated lynching.

This past week, Mississippi authorities closed the case after anexhaustive investigation found nothing to support the possibilityof a homicide.

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Now Jackson says his own investigators have identified 15suspects and is considering a third autopsy. Jackson will notidentify the suspects but, in support of his claims, he says sevenof the suspects had motives and four others had a verbal orphysical confrontation with Raynard Johnson within 90 days of hisdeath.

Meanwhile, Jackson continues his attacks on Mississippi, citingits violent past as proof lynchings still happen today andauthorities still cover up those murders as they did in thepast.

While we cannot disagree with the family for wanting to exhaustall avenues to find closure in the tragic death of a beloved son,we cannot agree with the baseless and slanderous attacks againstthe people of Mississippi by Jackson. At some point, they have toaccept the facts in the case and move on.

Jackson needs to stop his race-baiting efforts and move to moreconstructive efforts, such as finding the reasons behind theincrease in teenage suicide that is plaguing this country.

Doing so in the name of Raynard Johnson would be a fittingtribute to the life of the young man who once held so much promisefor his mother and father.