FBI Examines Civil Rights Case (Death of Shirley Sherrod's Father)

The Albany Herald ^ | Saturday, July 31, 2010 | J.D. Sumner

[kristinn]

FBI agents have requested and received documents connected to the man who some believe shot and killed Shirley Sherrod's father in rural Baker County in 1965, court officials said Friday.

While Sherrod has been the focus of media attention following her dismissal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the subsequent apology from President Barack Obama, the death of her father when she was 17 has been has been discussed but not prominently.

But the shot fired the night of March 15, 1965, has begun to reverberate again in Baker County after an FBI agent requested documents Friday connected to the only man charged in Hosie Miller's death, Cal Hall.

According to Baker County Probate Court officials, the agent requested the death certificate of Hall, who was also known as C.A. Hall, Jr. Hall died in 1976.

SNIP

According to the documents obtained Friday, Grace Miller and her brother-in-law, Walter Miller, tried at least three times to get Hall tried.

On the night of the shooting, Grace Miller swore out a warrant against Hall for assault with intent of murder. Despite the fact that Hosie Miller had since died, that charge went before a grand jury on Oct. 27, 1965 and was dismissed.

SNIP

Finally, on Jan. 17, 1966, Walter Miller again tried to bring murder charges against Hall but was unsuccessful.

Eight days later, on Jan. 25, 1966, Grace Miller, with the assistance of famed civil rights attorney C.B. King, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hall alleging that Hall shot Miller in the chest while in Miller's cow pasture off Route 2 in Newton on March 15, 1965. According to court documents Miller was seeking $330,00 to recover present and future lost wages, medical and funeral costs.

In his answer to Grace Miller's original complaint, Hall's attorney stated "the Defendant says that he is not indebted to the Plaintiff for any sum or amount for the reason that the killing by him of Plaintiff's husband was in self-defense."

Despite King's efforts to have the Baker County Board of Jury Commissioners redraw the jury lists after he said that the jury panel was comprised of a disproportionate number of white jurors given the fact during the 1960's census the majority of Baker County's 2,000-plus residents were black, Judge Emeritus Carl E. Crow went forward with the proceeding and on Sept.12, 1966, the jury found in favor of Hall.

[Gay State Conservative]

Bleep the "civil rights" case.If they think they have the one who committed the murder then,by all means,convict him in state court and hang him.It's that simple.It ain't rocket science.

Although I guess they could hang him *twice* for having committed a "hate crime".

[muddler]

Hall is long since departed so what’s the point?

[yarddog]

They have tried and tried to persecute this man and every time a jury or grand jury found for him. Now he has been dead for nearly 35 years and they are still trying to get mileage out of the case.

Nothing to be gained except try to stir up racial strife.

[silverleaf]

Let me guess -

Mr Hall went to Hosie’s pasture to retrieve Mt Hall’s stolen cows .....

[penelopesire]

Well, while the FBI is at it, they ought to investigate the rampant fraud going on in the Pigsford Suit and shakedown. (eye roll)

[CurlyDave]

Bleep the "civil rights" case.If they think they have the one who committed the murder then,by all means,convict him in state court and hang him.It's that simple.It ain't rocket science.

Read the whole article before you post.

Both the shooter and the shootee are long since dead. There are not going to be any arrests, ever.

[cranked]

I wish the DoJ, FBI, and Washington D.C. would simply implode in upon itself already. =.=

[advance_copy]

Hall was charged at least three different times in connection with Miller's killing and each time the grand jury declined to prosecute.

So, the prosecution could not even get an indictment.

In his answer to Grace Miller's original complaint [in 1966], Hall's attorney stated "the Defendant says that he is not indebted to the Plaintiff for any sum or amount for the reason that the killing by him of Plaintiff's husband was in self-defense."

We have been told that Sherrod's father was killed by a white man who was never charged. That was untrue. He was charged three times criminally and there was not enough evidence to even indict, much less convict. He was also sued in civil court and won.

[SteamShovel]

Hall is long since departed so what’s the point?

There is no point other than to stir up racial hatred.

It happened a long time ago.

.....It was one man against another, both of whom are dead.

.....Was it racism?

.....Was it self defense?

.....Was it outright murder (you know, the nonracial therefore less severe kind < / sarc >)?

Who knows. But it has been tried and tried again with no result. By now it would be impossible to obtain any trustworthy evidence that had not been already discovered.

The only point is to stir up the race issue.

[Cboldt]

Interesting that Grace Miller's wrongful death suit alleges Hosie Miller was shot in the chest. Current telling of the story is that Hosie Miller was shot in the back.

I was also not previously aware that there had been a trial. In the wrongful death suit, sufficiency of proof is preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt, and even with that lower threshold, no finding of liability.

[farmguy]

Despite King's efforts to have the Baker County Board of Jury Commissioners redraw the jury lists after he said that the jury panel was comprised of a disproportionate number of white jurors given the fact during the 1960's census the majority of Baker County's 2,000-plus residents were black, Judge Emeritus Carl E. Crow went forward with the proceeding and on Sept.12, 1966, the jury found in favor of Hall.

Since they are making this a racial event, I assume that Hall was Caucasian, if so, that would have made that a jury of his peers.

[svcw]

Oh, you mean Charred lied?

[PghBaldy]

Or to shut up shirley. I wonder if she threatened the Whte House etc?

[ebersole]

“I assume that Hall was Caucasian, if so, that would have made that a jury of his peers.”

Very good point!!!

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

I wonder what race-angry high official in the White House told the FBI to reopen the case? Anybody got any ideas who that might be?

[shalom aleichem]

The “justice” department may be wanting to sue the county for its failure to re-draw the jury to make it allegedly less racially “biased”. Holder is not past anything. Snake. Race baiter.

[PoplarBluffian]

We know Shirley’s version but exactly how did Hall explain what happened? If Miller really was shot in the back, how could it be self defense? Was there an autopsy report? On the surface it sounds like Shirley has a reason to be bitter. I would like to hope that with 3 Grand Juries, justice could be found.

[freespirited]

We have been told that Sherrod's father was killed by a white man who was never charged. That was untrue. He was charged three times criminally and there was not enough evidence to even indict, much less convict. He was also sued in civil court and won.

She has also claimed that her father was murdered by the KKK. But repeated news stories on what happened say nothing about the Klan.

Hard to believe the RAT media would leave that out if it were true.

[Cboldt]

-- Let me guess -
Mr Hall went to Hosie's pasture to retrieve Mt Hall's stolen cows ... --

This is the most detail I have seen, as to what lead up to the shooting. I will say that "shot in the back" is a prominent feature in all the recently published stories -- sometimes set off with em-dashes.

If Hosie Miller was shot in the back, why would the wrongful death lawsuit allege he was shot in the chest? Talk about changing a significant and material part of the story!

Shirley Sherrod shaped by father's slaying
By Rhonda Cook and Marcus K. Garner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
8:50 a.m. Friday, July 23, 2010

Sherrod's father, Hosie Miller, had a dispute with a man over cows that had come into his pasture. The neighbor insisted that three of Miller's cows were his. Miller said he would call the "law" to settle the dispute. As Hosie Miller was closing the gate, he was shot in the back, the family says.