CNN
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This is how the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama killed four African-American girls during a church service.
September 15, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of its founding of bombing.
September 15, 1963 – blast at 16th Street Baptist Church Four African-American girls were murdered during a church service in Birmingham, Alabama. At least 14 of her people were injured in the explosion, among them Sarah Collins, her 12-year-old sister of victim Addimei Collins.
Three former Ku Klux Klan members were eventually convicted of murder in the bombing.
Addie Mae Collins, 14
Dennis McNair, 11
Carol Robertson, 14
Cynthia Wesley, 14
September 15, 1963 – A bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls and injuring 14 others.
– A riot breaks out and kills two African-American boys, Virgil Weah, 13, and Johnny Robinson, 16. Altogether, at least 20 people were injured in the initial bombing and subsequent riots.
– Alabama Governor George Wallace will send 500 National Guard and 300 State Troopers to the city. The next day, 500 police officers and his 150 sheriff’s deputies join.
September 16, 1963 – President John F. Kennedy replied: It is too late for all concerned to unite for peaceful progress before more lives are lost. ”
September 16, 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He held a press conference in Birmingham, Alabama, saying the U.S. military “should come to Birmingham, take over this city and run it.”
1965- Suspects appear: Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss, and Herman Frank Cash, all members of the Ku Klux Klan. Witnesses are reluctant to speak and, due to lack of physical evidence, are not charged.
1976 – Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley reopens the case.
September 26, 1977 – Chambliss, 73, a retired auto mechanic, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder.
November 15, 1977 – On the second day of the trial, Chambliss’ niece, Elizabeth Cobb, testified that Chambliss confided to her before the bombing that he had “cleared enough things to level half Birmingham”. increase.
November 18, 1977 – Chambliss was convicted of first-degree murder related to the bombing and sentenced to life in prison.
1985- Chambliss dies in prison.
1994- Cash dies without charge in the bombing.
From July 1997 Citing new evidence, the case is reopened by the FBI.
From May 16, 2000 A grand jury in Alabama indicted former Clansmen Cherry and Blanton each with eight counts of first-degree murder (four counts of intentional homicide and four counts of universal malice homicide).
From May 1, 2001 Blanton was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to four life terms.
From May 22, 2002 Cherry is found guilty and sentenced to four life terms.
November 8, 2004 – Cherry dies in prison.
From February 20, 2006 16th Street Baptist Church Designated as a National Historic Landmark.
From September 12, 2013 50 years after the atomic bombings, all four times Dead girl awarded Congressional gold medal.
From September 14, 2013 a bronze and steel statue Four girls have been exposed. Located in Kelly Ingram Park on the corner of 16th Street North and his 6th Street North.
From August 3, 2016 Brunton, the last convicted bomber alive, was denied parole. The 86-year-old has asked the Alabama Board of Amnesty and Parole to allow him to die as a free man, and he won’t be eligible for parole until his 2021.
June 26, 2020 – Blanton dies in prison of natural causesaccording to, Statement from Alabama Governor Kay Ivey.
Source: www.cnn.com
