Case 159
James Craig Anderson
When 47-year-old Mississippi resident James Craig Anderson realised he’d locked his keys in his car in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 26 2011, he was thankful when a vehicle pulled up offering to help. But it soon became clear that the occupants were anything but good samaritans.
What ensues is a modern-day hate crime that divides the residents of Jackson, Mississippi. Investigators work to uncover the truth about the perpetrators’ motivations and to determine whether the colour of James Craig Anderson’s skin played a role in his death.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research – Holly Boyd
Writing – Elsha McGill
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
RESOURCES
COURT DOCUMENTS:
Estate of James C. Anderson v. Deryl Dedmon, Jr., et al., Circuit Court of First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, 6 September 2011, Civil Action No. 11-804-CIV
United States of America v Dylan Wade Butler, Deryl Paul Dedmon & John Aaron Rice, United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division, 21 March 2012, Criminal No. 3:21C134CWR-FKB
Plea Agreement, United States v Sarah Adelia Graves, Criminal No. 3:14cr87-HTW-FKB, 14 November, 2014
Plea Agreement, United States v Robert Henry Rice, Criminal No. 3:14cr87-HTW-FKB, 7 January 2015
A black Mississippi Judge’s breathtaking speech to 3 white murderers – NPR
NEWS ARTICLES:
Jackson ‘white flight’ slows in last decade – Jackson Free Press
Daryl Dedmon back in jail – WLBT
Black man run over, killed in Mississippi hate crime, DA says – News One
Video intensifies interest in a Mississippi killing – New York Times
What James Craig Anderson’s killing means to America – HuffPost
Internet war of words breaks out in Miss. killing – Fox News
Community stands against racial injustice – Jacks Free Press
Hundreds remember Mississippi hate crime victim James Anderson – Color Lines
‘Reverse Racism’: A sad misnomer for a tragic Mississippi murder – Color Lines
Weighing race and hate in a Mississippi killing – New York Times
New details in violent Mississippi murder of James Craig Anderson – Color Lines
James Anderson’s partner can’t join family’s wrongful death suit in Mississippi – Color Lines
White teen accused in hate crime killing of black man says he was ‘seeking revenge’ – Color Lines
Divided we fall: The killing of James Craig Anderson – Jackson Free Press
Teen accused in James Anderson’s killing linked to other hate crimes – Color Lines
Life sentence in Mississippi hate crime case – CNN
Hate crime indictment tells alleged details of attacks – Clarion Ledger
Two Mississippi women plead guilty to a series of racially motivated assaults on African-Americans – FBI
Women get maxim sentences in hate crime death – Clarion Ledger
John Louis Blalack sentenced to 20 years in hate crime – Clarion Ledger
Jackson passes law to help document hate crimes – USA Today
This is what they did for fun: the story of a modern-day lynching – Buzzfeed News
Four white men ordered to pay $840,000 for Jim Crow-style killing of Mississippi black man – The Washington Post
Before jailing a young woman, a judge puts her mother’s racist views on the stand – The New York Times
STATUES AND CODES:
2010 Mississippi Code, Title 97, section 97-3-13
VIDEOS:
Was Mississippi killing a hate crime? – CNN, Youtube channel
Exclusive: Metro Inn surveillance video shows attack, slaying –16 WAPT News Jackson YouTube channel
State of Mississippi v Deryl Dedmon, video of guilty plea to charge of murder, and the enhancement to capital murder – KingfishMS, via YouTube
Love and Hate Crime, Season 1, Episode 2 ‘Murder in Mississippi’ – Top Hate Productions, 15 January 2018
WEBSITES:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The United States Department of Justice
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