BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The federal government is still investigating the brutal slaying of black teenager Emmett Till, whose death in 1955 helped spur the civil rights movement.
A Justice Department report issued to Congress about civil rights cold case investigations lists Till's killing as being among the unit's active cases. The inquiry was reopened two years after a book indicated a key witness had lied. Till was killed hours after he whistled at a white woman. An all-white jury in Mississippi acquitted two white men of murder charges.
Relatives of Till say they're encouraged that the case remains open but they're anxious for a resolution.
The department has closed its review of six other slayings dating from 1940 through 1973 without filing any charges.