What you say about Jim Hood at Mrs. Chaney’s funeral reminds me of his boorish comments during closing statements at the Killen trial:

Some of you have asked why I am here. . . Because this is where justice is done.

I wish some of my predecessors had done their duty. I wouldn’t have to be here, to have missed my daughter’s second birthday.

Nobody should want to miss their kid’s birthday, but when the victims’ families had by then missed celebrating 41 birthdays, the comment seems just a little off.

It’s a shame that he had to be so crass about using Mrs. Chaney’s funeral to serve his own political aspirations. He’s really got a lot of nerve.

Your report that the criticism came from Ben Chaney “and others” is important. The story on the funeral in the Meridian Star made it sound like all was joyful at the funeral until Ben Chaney took the mike.

The entire service wasn’t joyful though, as Ben Chaney, son to the deceased, left harsh words for those individuals he believed unjustly used his mother’s legacy.

“She was such a forgiving woman when she lived,” said Chaney. “You’re going to find out that her son is not as forgiving. I’m not going to let you abuse my mother in death, like you did in life. When our home had a cross burned on the front lawn, a group of civil right’s leaders met right in this church to discuss what should be done. Not one of those leaders came to see if my mother was OK … It was a bitter pill for my mother to swallow when she came back to Meridian and saw that nothing had changed. Now that she’s gone, who’s going to stand in the gap for you?”

It is ironic that the Meridian Star itself is unjustly using Mrs. Chaney’s legacy in order to engage in character assassination. Character assassination seems to be popular among the newspaper editors in that part of Mississippi.

Speaking of p.r., every speaker at Ms. Chaney’s recent funeral stood at the podium in front of the Chaney family to address them directly. Jim Hood, however, apparently did not want to be obscured by the large floral display that had partially blocked the video camera’s view of Ramsey Clarke and other speakers who came before and after him. Hood made his way to the unobstructed podium on the other side of the church. There he made a vain speech during which his reference to Ms. Chaney served only to tell his own story. From my perspective, his description of the spiritual experience of touching Ms. Chaney’s hand, as he led her to the stand to testify, served two purposes: it provided him with a way to counter Ben Chaney’s and others’ criticism by stressing Ms. Chaney’s forgiveness and compassion while ignoring her own sense of incomplete and imperfect justice and her boldness as she took the stand; and it provided him with a glorious climax for his narrative about his life being somehow ordained to prosecute the case and redeem Mississippi.

Thankfully, there are people like you who are telling the full truth and seeking real justice.