What happened to Emmett Till? Case revisited as memoir reveals accuser did not want him killed

Carolyn Donham Bryant, the woman who accused Emmett Till, a 14-year-old teenager, of improperly grabbing and whistling at her in 1955, which led to his lynching, has denied identifying him and wanting to have him murdered.

In a 109-page sealed copy of a memoir written by Bryant, she has suggested that she herself felt like a victim of tragedy. She has also claimed to be unaware of what would happen to the 14-year-old boy.

In her memoir, she wrote:

"I did not wish Emmett any harm and could not stop harm from coming to him, since I did not know what was planned for him. I have always prayed that God would bless Emmett's family. I am truly sorry for the pain his family was caused."

She also wrote:

"I tried to protect him by telling Roy that 'He's not the one. That's not him. Please take him home.'"

The unpublished manuscript, titled I Am More Than A Wolf Whistled, is kept at the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It will remain sealed till 2036. A copy of it was given to the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.

The memoir also talks in detail about the guilt that Donham felt and how she asks God for forgiveness every day for the death of Emmett Till.

The June 1955 lynching of Mississippi brought into nationwide notice the issue of racial violence and injustice. The killing is often referred to as the key spark for the African American population to join the Civil Rights Movement.

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Emmett Till Was Lynched On False Charges

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old teenager from Chicago visiting his relatives in Mississippi along with his cousins when he happened to stop by the store where Carolyn Donham Bryant was working. He was accused of making lewd advances.

She also accused him of whistling at her and attempting to grab her hand and waist, although no one else in the store reported witnessing any such event happening.

Rob Bryant, Carolyn’s then husband and his half-brother J.W. Milam kidnapped, beat and lynched the boy. He was heavily mutilated before he was shot.

They tied a large metal fan to Emmett Till's neck and body with barbed wire and dumped his body in the Tallahatchie River. They were both acquitted of murder charges but later confessed to the killing.

People are calling for the arrest of Donham, who was in her 20s back then and is 87 currently, after the discovery of this memoir. But Michelle Williams, Chief of Staff in the AG’s office, told the media that there is no new evidence to open the case back up.