Carolyn Bryant Donham, the Emmett Till accuser who set in motion the circumstances that led to his torture and murder has died. Twitter is shedding no tears while noting that her death is anything but justice.
Donham was the white woman who falsely accused Till of catcalling her while the Chicago native was in Mississippi in 1955 visiting family for the summer. Years later, Donham admitted that she made it up. In recent years, an warrant for her arrest that was never executed was found. Nevertheless, a grand jury refused to indict Donham on charges that her accusation led to Till’s brutal death.
As NewsOne reports, Donham was suffering from cancer and was in hospice care at the time of her demise.
Till’s cousin, Wheeler Parker, told Mississippi today that he and his family extended their sympathy to Donham’s family. “We don’t have any ill will or animosity toward her,” he reportedly said.
Now that’s class.
Political analyst Keith Boykin shared a perspective many have at this moment. “An arrest warrant was issued for Carolyn Bryant Donham in August 1955 related to the murder of Emmett Till. But it was never served,” he tweeted. “Instead, she was able to live a full life to 88 years old. Emmett Till only lived to 14 years old. This is not justice.”
Twitter, however, has way less grace for Donham—she’s why Rest In Hell started trending soon after news of her death broke. Peep some of the reactions to Donham’s death in the gallery.