The government should do more than that. It should pay these people for the profits they could have earned from the use of the land plus 40+ years of interest. Well stated. Note, however, that Lemon Williams retained possesion of the land until his death in 1983. His son says that he continued to grow beans and cotton until then. Not an exculpation of federal and state crimes, but it has bearing on damages perhaps owed.
Don't you love it when something works to protect the people from the government as the Founders intended?