Deryl Dedmon

Background

Deryl Dedmon led a group of white teenagers who assaulted and killed James Craig Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi.

Anderson was a 49-year-old African American. He worked as a line worker at a Nissan plant, and he sang in his church choir. His partner of 17 years survived him. Anderson had died after he was beaten and run over by a truck driven by Dedmon.

Anderson’s murder generated a high-profile civil rights investigation by the FBI. Authorities stated that Anderson’s death was intentional and racially motivated.

The offence

On June 26, 2011, Anderson was murdered by being run over. The killing occurred in Jackson, Mississippi, and was recorded on a security camera.

Prosecutors stated that before being killed, Anderson was robbed and repeatedly beaten by a group of white teenagers, including Dedmon and his friends.

One witness reported that one of the perpetrators yelled “white power” when returning to his truck after the beating.

Dedmon was alleged to have instigated the attack from early in the evening, participated in the beating of Anderson, and acted as the actual driver of the Ford F-250 truck used to kill Anderson.

A group of young whites were drinking in largely white Rankin County, Mississippi. A lawyer representing one (or more) of the perpetrators said that they decided to go buy more beer in a location where stores were open later at night.

According to law enforcement officials, Dedmon urged his friends, “Let’s go fuck with some niggers.” The group climbed into Dedmon’s green 1998 Ford F-250 and a white Jeep Cherokee, and drove 16 miles (26 km) west on Interstate 20 to a predominantly black area on the western edge of Jackson. Anderson was near his truck in the parking lot at the Metro Inn in Jackson, Mississippi, at 5 am on June 26, according to prosecutors. The two vehicles pulled off the freeway and into the motel parking lot.

According to an attorney representing one of the group, they assumed Anderson was trying to steal a vehicle because they saw him trying to break into a vehicle. The vehicle was Anderson’s own; he was trying to break in because he had lost his keys.

Video from a motel security camera did not show any beating occurring. Instead, it showed the perpetrators entering and leaving the frame of the video.

Authorities indicated that after the beating, the Jeep drove off, driven by William Montomory, and the green pickup, driven by Dedmon, ran over Anderson, killing him. The truck left the scene at a high speed.

After leaving the scene, Dedmon boasted about beating and running Anderson over, while using racial slurs. He said “I ran that nigger over” to the accomplices in the other Jeep. Law enforcement officials indicated that Dedmon repeated that statement with the racial slur in subsequent conversations.

In a civil lawsuit description, “Defendant Dedmon drove the F-250 out of the parking lot and turned right onto Ellis Avenue,” and “Just as Dedmon turned right, his headlights shone directly on Anderson, who, having been severely beaten, was stumbling in a grassy area near the motel's entrance. Dedmon accelerated, drove onto and over the street curb, and struck Anderson with the front of the F-250.”

Investigation

The FBI opened an investigation into the crime as a civil rights violation. FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said on August 17 that the bureau wanted to “determine whether federal civil rights crimes occurred”. Civil rights violations can include hate crimes according to Madden.

A U.S. Department of Justice investigation was described as looking into the death as a possible federal hate crime and assisting local prosecutors. Federal investigators also were described as digging for months into other possible crimes in the area committed by Dedmon and others that might show a pattern of racial violence.

Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith said that the killers said racial slurs during the attack. “This was a crime of hate,” he told CNN. “Dedmon murdered this man because he was black.”

Winston J. Thompson III said: “It appears there is no doubt that this was a racially motivated killing,” and “The family is still in shock still in disbelief.”

Arrest

Dedmon was arrested on July 6. He was being held without bail.

Charges

Dedmon was charged with capital murder. The incident was described as a racially motivated hate crime.

On September 20, a grand jury indicted Dedmon on charges of capital murder as well as a hate crime. Capital murder in Mississippi carries the sentences of death or life in prison without parole, and Mississippi’s hate crime law provided for enhanced sentences.

The indictment alleged that Dedmon killed Anderson while in the commission of committing felony robbery, and Anderson’s family asked state and federal officials not to seek the death penalty.

Dedmon entered a plea of not guilty at a preliminary hearing held on September 30.

Another teenager, John Aaron Rice, who assaulted Anderson before he was killed, was charged with simple assault. Rice was released on $5,000 bail. Prosecutors were pursuing additional charges against Rice as well as Dedmon’s other accomplices who were at the scene. Attorneys for both Dedmon and Rice initially denied that the crime was racially motivated. Rice’s attorney claimed the teens were on a “beer run” and that they were not looking for a black man to assault.

Trial

Dedmon entered a guilty plea on March 21, 2012.

Sentencing

On March 21, 2012, Dedmon entered a guilty plea to murder and a hate crime charge and was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison.

Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill sentenced Dedmon to two concurrent life terms. The judge said, “This craven act isn't who we are.” Weill also said, “Whatever excuse you offer, forget that. There is no excuse,” and “The state of Mississippi condemns this despicable crime.”

Dedmon, 19, told the judge that he was a “changed man” who had found religion since his arrest. He said, “I wish I could take it all back,” adding, “I was young and dumb, ignorant and full of hatred. I chose to go down the wrong path.”

Dedmon was expected to plead guilty to still-undisclosed federal charges the following day. Officials would disclose no details, and Robert Shuler Smith said he expected other charges and other arrests. “This is just the beginning,” Smith said.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

Dedmon pleaded guilty to murder and a hate crime charge. He received two concurrent life terms on March 21, 2012.

A second man, John Aaron Rice, was initially charged with murder, but a judge reduced the charge to simple assault because Rice was not believed to be driving the vehicle used to kill Anderson.

Aftermath

On August 14, 2011, about 500 people marched in Jackson to denounce the “racially motivated hate crime”.

The case sparked a “war of words” on the Internet.

Anderson’s sister wrote a letter to Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith requesting that those responsible for Anderson’s death not face the death penalty, citing Christian values. The letter stated: “They also have caused our family unspeakable pain and grief. But our loss will not be lessened by the state taking the life of another. ... We also oppose the death penalty because it historically has been used in Mississippi and the South primarily against people of color for killing whites. Executing James' killers will not help balance the scales. But sparing them may help to spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment.”

A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center against seven of the teens involved in the incident. Morris Dees said: “James Anderson lost his life for no other reason than the color of his skin,” and “Those responsible must be held accountable for their callous and deadly actions. We are filing this lawsuit today to ensure his family gets a measure of justice.”

The lawsuit gained attention in the LGBT community because Mississippi law did not recognize Anderson’s partner of 17 years, leaving his partner unable to participate in the wrongful death suit.

Winston J. Thompson III said: “James Anderson lost his life for no other reason than the color of his skin” and also described Anderson as “a line worker at a Nissan plant” who “sang in his church choir,” adding that he was survived by his partner of 17 years and calling him “He was just a pillar of the community,” “He paid his taxes on time; he went to work, came home -- he was just an average, ordinary citizen, good guy, wonderful gardener.”

Barbara Anderson Young said during the hearing that her family was praying for “racial conciliation.” She said: “These last months have been very difficult,” “We cried. We wept. We reminisced about our beloved brother, Craig, a loss I cannot even explain. Craig was a big-hearted person who loved his fellow man.”

Other details

Deryl Dedmon was described as thin, weighing 130 pounds, and short at 5 feet. He had straggly blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

The proceedings were described as taking place in the Hinds County courthouse, where in 1994 Byron de la Beckwith was convicted in the notorious killing of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963.

A lawsuit named other individuals alleged to have been taking part in the incident: Sarah Graves of Crystal Springs; Shelbie Richards of Pearl; and William Kirk Montgomery, John Blaylock and Dylan Butler, all of Brandon. None of these five were described as arrested or charged.

A phone conversation quote attributed to Dedmon was provided as: “I ran that n----- over.” Another quote attributed to Dedmon’s public statements after leaving the scene was provided as: “I ran that nigger over.”