Thursday, April 13, 2023, 5:46 pm News Flash Archive

This morning, Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks filed a motion in federal court, requesting the dismissal of the complaint filed against him on February 7, 2023 by Priscilla Sterling. In her lawsuit, Sterling had asked the court to force Sheriff Banks to arrest Carolyn Bryant Donham for the kidnapping of Emmett Till in 1955.

Donham's then husband Roy Bryant, along with J. W. Milam, kidnapped Till, a 14 year old black boy, and murdered him sometime early on the morning of August 28, 1955. His body was found three days later in the Tallahatchie River by two boys while fishing.

Before Till's body was found, Leflore County Sheriff George Smith interviewed Mr. Bryant and Mr. Milam about the kidnapping, and on August 29, 1955, John J. Fraiser, Jr., then the Leflore County Prosecutor, executed an affidavit to the court against Roy Bryant, J. W. Milam, and Mrs. Carolyn Bryant, charging them with kidnapping Till. At that time, it was not known that Till had already been murdered by the two men. This affidavit may be seen here: 1955 Charging Affidavit by Leflore County Prosecutor

An arrest warrant was issued the same day for the arrest of the three kidnapping suspects: 1955 Arrest Warrant

Ultimately, that warrant was served on Bryant and Milam, but according to Sheriff Smith, Mrs. Bryant could not be found in the county: 1955 Arrest Return Capias

The warrant was not served on the two men until a month after it was issued, because in the meantime, Milam and Bryant had been arrested, indicted, tried, and acquitted in Tallahatchie County for Till's murder. In 1956, they admitted in Look magazine that they had murdered Till, but they could not be retried due to the constitutional protection against double jeopardy.

In November 1955, the district attorney presented the remaining kidnapping charges to a Leflore County grand jury, which refused to issue an indictment.

The lawsuit against Sheriff Banks arose after the arrest warrant was discovered in the basement of the Leflore County court house, with notations that Carolyn Bryant (now Donham) had never been arrested.

But as we first reported, the warrant is stale and cannot legally be served against Donham, because three grand juries have since refused to indict her on the charges. To see our original reporting, view here: Emmett Till relative asks Federal Court to force Leflore County Sheriff to arrest Carolyn Donham in the kidnapping of Emmett Till

The most recent grand jury refused to indict her on August 4, 2022 on both the charges of manslaughter and kidnapping. View the "no-bill" list here: 2022 Grand Jury No-Bill for Carolyn Bryant Donham

Two other parties, Deborah Watts and Terri Watts, have sued Sheriff Banks and the District Attorney, W. Dewayne Richardson, asking for similar relief from the Leflore County Circuit Court. They demanded that Richardson present the case to the grand jury, and that Sheriff Banks arrest Mrs. Donham, who presently resides in a hospice care facility in Kentucky.

But Richardson told the court that he had already presented the case to the grand jury on August 4, 2022, and it had once again refused to indict Mrs. Donham:

After presentation of all available evidence, the Leflore County Grand Jury determined that there was not sufficient evidence to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham for the above stated charges [kidnapping and manslaughter].

District Attorney Richardson described the legal consequence of the grand jury's action:

By declining to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham for the charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, the Leflore County Grand Jury determined two issues: First that there was not sufficient evidence for the charges against Donham to proceed to trial; and Second, that the evidence which may or may not have supported the probable cause basis for the issuance of the 1955 arrest warrant against Donham is presently not sufficient. Ultimately, the determination of probable cause to proceed with prosecution rests with the Grand Jury.

. . . the Grand Jury's decision pertaining to Carolyn Bryant Donham renders the 1955 arrest warrant moot.

DA Richardson's full response may be viewed here: District Attorney Response in State Court Case

Sheriff Banks' request for the federal court to dismiss Ms. Sterling's lawsuit against him may be seen here:

Banks Motion to Dismiss

Banks Motion to Dismiss Memorandum

According to Banks' motion to dismiss:

All of Plaintiff's claims for relief derive from the Arrest Warrant which has been rendered moot by the Grand Jury of Leflore County, Mississippi, after it determined there was insufficient evidence to indict Donham for kidnapping or manslaughter of Till. . . . Since the Arrest Warrant is moot, all claims against Banks should be dismissed with prejudice.

According to Banks, Ms. Sterling doesn't even have standing to file the lawsuit against Banks:

Further, the Plaintiff [Priscilla Sterling] lacks standing to bring this cause. The Complaint lacks any factual allegations of misconduct by Banks against the Plaintiff. Plaintiff does not allege that she has been injured by Banks. The sole purpose of the Complaint is to compel Banks to serve the moot Arrest Warrant. She does not have standing to do so.

Banks states that no factual allegation of misconduct against him have been claimed by Sterling:

Banks has been the Sheriff of Leflore County since January, 1980. The factual allegations recited in Section I paragraphs one through six of Plaintiff's Complaint describe conduct allegedly committed by then Leflore County Sheriff George Smith in 1955. There is not one factual allegation of any alleged conduct by Banks against Till or Plaintiff. Banks' name is not mentioned. . . . The Plaintiff has failed to allege factually that Banks committed any act of discrimination against Plaintiff under 42. U.S.C. Section 1983 or the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, the Plaintiff has failed to state a claim against Banks and the Complaint should be dismissed.

Banks also points out that Ms. Sterling isn't qualified by law to file a complaint on behalf of Mr. Till, because she hasn't described what her relation to Till is, and she is not his estate's executor, his guardian, or other person legally allowed to act on his behalf.

Nor has Sterling charged Banks with harming her in any way:

Plaintiff has not alleged that she has suffered any injury. The Complaint is void of facts that Banks has violated Section 1983 or caused any injury to Plaintiff. Section IV of the Complaint recites conclusory allegations of conduct by Banks, i.e. "[t]he Defendant has engaged in racially selective enforcement of law" and "[t]he Defendant has systematically avoided law enforcement in cases when the victim is black and the perpetrator is white." There are no facts to support these allegations. The facts in Section I of the Complaint allege that in 1955 Leflore County Sheriff George Smith committed wrongful acts, not Banks.

. . . There are no factual allegation[s] of misconduct by Banks in the Complaint.

For all these reasons, Banks asks the court to dismiss the complaint against him.

Sheriff Ricky Banks is represented in the lawsuit by Greenwood attorney Charles Swayze, Jr.

The county supervisors recently refused to pay for the Sheriff's attorney, or to ask the county's liability insurance policy to step in and defend him.

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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