1.
MS defendants and companion
0.03

2.
MCU same
0.11

3.
CU defendant
0.14

4.
Two shots MCU defendants
0.20

5.
MS Sims holding wife
0.28

6.
MS of group
0.35



Initials



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Two members of the Ku Klux Klan charged with the murder of Lemuel Penn, a Negro educator from Washington who was shot during the night while driving through North Georgia (southeast USA), were acquitted Friday night (4 September) at Danielsville, Georgia,. The verdict was given by an all-white jury.

The jury deliberated for three hours and fifteen minutes, not counting a two-hour recess for dinner.

The defendents were Joseph Howard Sims, age 41, and Cecil William Myers, 28. The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified both as members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Both are still under $25,000 bond and face Federal charges of conspiracy, which could result in five-year sentences.

The State prosecutor, Clete Johnson, had asked for the death penalty. The court-appointed defense attorney, John Darsey, had made an impassioned plea in which he constantly stressed the race issue.

Penn was driving through the area near Danielsville with two companions, returning from a short reserve training period at Fort Benning, Georgia, when another automobile drew alongside and fired a burst, killing Penn. The murder was committed in early July.