Reputed Klansman James Seale will walk free in less than three weeks – unless federal authorities mount a successful objection.
Last year, a U.S. District Court jury convicted Seale over his alleged involvement in the May 2, 1964, abduction and killings of two African-American teenagers, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore from Franklin County.
In a unanimous decision Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – Eugene Davis of Lafayette, La., and Jerry Smith and Harold DeMoss Jr., both of Houston, Texas -vacated Seale’s 2007 conviction, concluding the federal statute of limitations on kidnapping had expired.
The Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case, is still weighing its options, said spokesman Scot Montrey.
Magnolia Tribune
