10/23/2023 0 Comments Thomas edwin blanton jr. parolle![]() ![]() Opponents took up seats normally reserved for inmates’ relatives, and members of the Birmingham NAACP chapter rode to Montgomery on a bus to be there.ĭoug Jones, a former U.S. Inmates do not attend parole hearings under Alabama law, and no one showed up to speak on Blanton’s behalf. “We were at that church learning about love and forgiveness when someone was outside doing hateful things,” she said. The blast killed the 11-year-old McNair and 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Morris, also known as Cynthia Wesley. The automatic review was the first for Blanton.īlanton was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Sept. Clair prison, will again be eligible for parole consideration in five years, the board said. Lisa McNair, a sister of bombing victim Denise McNair, was relieved by the decision.īlanton, who lives in a one-person cell and rarely has contact with other inmates at St. The board rejected parole for Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 78, who has served 15 years of a life term for being part of a group of Klansmen who planted a bomb outside Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church during the civil rights movement. – The lone surviving Ku Klux Klansman imprisoned for killing four black girls in a church bombing in 1963 will remain behind bars after Alabama’s parole board heeded the victims’ families Wednesday and refused an early release. “That complete picture is important for true forgiveness, for true reconciliation.MONTGOMERY, Ala. We can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty, but only Blanton at this point can tell you the story of who, what, where, why,” Jones said. “I think the story really needs to be told. Attorney who prosecuted Blanton’s and Cherry's cases, described the significance of this denial. He still says he’s innocent,” Braddock said.ĭoug Jones, a former Assistant U.S. When Thomas Blanton was finally brought to justice, he didn’t have a single word to say to the families of the victims. “This man walked around knowing he was guilty and talked about what he did and how it happened and where he was and what the plans were. GAMBLING IN ALABAMA: Bentley talks about options Family of the deceased said Blanton never apologized for his role in the bombing, but instead wrote them letters maintaining his innocence. No one spoke on Blanton’s behalf, and he was not present at the hearing. “I feel like it was the right decision because if (Blanton) had gotten out he would have hurt somebody or somebody would have killed him,” Rudolph said. She said after the hearing that she was satisfied with the board’s choice. They also said Blanton will not be reconsidered for parole until five years from now, which is the maximum amount of time an inmate can be denied parole before coming before the board again.īefore making their decision, they listened to nearly 30 minutes of testimony from those opposing Blanton's potential release. Parole board members Eddie Cook and Cliff Walker ultimately denied Blanton a chance at re-entering society and noted during the hearing that state law requires parole hearings for those serving life sentences after 15 years imprisonment. His co-conspirators, Robert Chambliss and Bobby Frank Cherry were convicted in 19, respectively for the bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. “And though I did not get to know my sister because I was born a year and four days after she was killed, I’ve had to watch my parents in their grief all of my life.”įormer Ku Klux Klan member Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 86, was convicted in 2001 for the 1963 bombing, which claimed the lives of 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Morris and 11-year-old Denise McNair. “This has been a legacy of pain in our family for our whole lives,” said Lisa McNair, the younger sister of Denise McNair, who was 11 when she was killed. View Gallery: Last surviving man convicted in Birmingham bombing denied paroleĭuring a parole hearing where only standing room was available, family members of four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing expressed why the last living convicted perpetrator shouldn’t be released from prison.
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