“Although his passing will never fully take away the pain or restore the loss of life, I pray on behalf of the loved ones of all involved that our entire state can continue taking steps forward to create a better Alabama for future generations,” Ivey said. “That was a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabama’s history and that of our nation. “His role in the hateful act on Septemstole the lives of four innocent girls and injured many others,” Ivey said in a statement. The bomb collapsed a basement wall, killing Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson – all 14 – and Denise McNair, 11, in a lounge they used for changing into their choir robes.īlanton – one of three former KKK members convicted of murdering the girls – died of natural causes Friday while serving a life sentence, according to a statement released by Alabama Gov. APġ963 Birmingham Church Bombing Fast Facts Three former Ku Klux Klan members were later convicted of murder. The bodies of Denise McNair, 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all 14, were found in the downstairs lounge.Ĭollins’ sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the blast but lost her right eye and is known as the “fifth little girl.” Glass fragments remained in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion.From left, 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley were killed. 15, 1963, a bomb ripped through an exterior wall of the brick church, killing four girls who were inside preparing for a youth program. Cherry was convicted in 2002 and died in prison in 2004. Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and died in prison in 1985. The investigation into the bombing was stalled early and left dormant for long stretches, but two other ex-Klansmen, Robert Chambliss and Bobby Frank Cherry, also were convicted in the bombing in separate trials. Moderates could no longer remain silent and the fight to topple segregation laws gained new momentum. The church bombing, exposing the depths of hatred by white supremacists as Birmingham integrated its public schools, was a tipping point of the civil rights movement. “That he died at this moment, when the country is trying to reconcile the multi-generational failure to end systemic racism, seems fitting,” Jones said in a statement.
#THOMAS EDWIN BLANTON JR TODAY FREE#
Doug Jones, who prosecuted Blanton, said the fact that Blanton remained free for almost 40 years after the bombing “speaks to a broader systemic failure to hold him and his accomplices accountable.” When asked by the judge during sentencing if he had any comment, Blanton said: “I guess the good Lord will settle it on judgment day.” Ivey, in a statement, called the bombing “a dark day that will never be forgotten in both Alabama’s history and that of our nation.” In May 2001, Blanton was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He was being held at Donaldson prison near Birmingham, prison officials said. Kay Ivey’s office said Blanton died of natural causes. (AP) - Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., the last of three one-time Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in a 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls and was the deadliest single attack of the civil rights movement, died Friday in prison, officials said. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.īIRMINGHAM, Ala. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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