JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A racially charged killing during racial unrest in Jacksonville received national television exposure on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Monday, almost 44 years after the crime.
Johnnie Mae Chappell, a 35-year-old housekeeper and mother of 10, was shot and killed in 1964 as she walked home along New Kings Road.
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As race riots were going on near downtown, a witness told police that four young white men set out in a car looking for a black person to kill.
Chappell became an easy target.
A grand jury indicted the four men on charges of first-degree murder -- J.W. Rich, Elmer Kato, Wayne Chessman and James Davis -- but only one of them was tried or served any prison time.
Lee Cody Jr., one of detectives who investigated the case at the time, claims he was fired after he questioned his superiors why the murder weapon disappeared from the police property room and more wasn't done to pursue convictions against the defendants.
He said he could only come to one conclusion why murder charges against three of the four men were dropped despite obtaining full confessions.
"Every public official was warranted by oath of office to help me bring these people to justice, they all looked the other way," Cody told Channel 4's Bruce Hamilton.
In 2006, Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a new investigation into the case. But after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated, special prosecutor Bill Cervone issued an opinion "that no additional investigation is warranted and that no prosecution is legally possible."
Cody and attorney Bill Sporer, working with Chappell's son Shelton, continue to pursue the case, hoping the federal prosecutors might come to a different conclusion.
"Racism eats at the very core of our country and our existence," Cody said. "(That) and our disrespect for the rule of law are the two things, in my judgment, that can destroy our country."
Cody hope that national exposure on the Oprah show will re-energize the case.
"I just hope that somehow, some way, someone will come to me and says 'Tell me all about it. Show me the evidence and let's put it in a chronology and present it to the American people.'"
Previous Stories:
- January 9, 2006: Governor Appoints Special Prosecutor In 1964 Civil Rights Murder
- December 4, 2002: President Wants 1964 Racial Slaying Reviewed