CHICAGO, March 17 (UPI) -- The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 must be prosecuted in Mississippi state court as there is no more time to file federal charges in the case.
That is the word from the FBI, which has turned over the case to Mississippi prosecutors.
Till, a Chicago resident, was visiting relatives in Mississippi in August 1955 when he was abducted, tortured and killed. Two men were later tried but acquitted by an all-white jury, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The FBI says its "exhaustive" case includes an investigation into those who may be connected to the brutal crime but never charged, reports the Sun-Times. There is no statute of limitations on murder in Mississippi.
Simeon Wright, who says he was with Till when the teen whistled at a white woman in Money, Miss., told the newspaper: "It's up to the State of Mississippi now. Fifty years ago, they fumbled the ball. Now they have a chance to redeem themselves."
A prosecutor handling the Till case in Mississippi said if there is enough evidence in the FBI report, her office will call a grand jury.
