Broken Hallelujah

They said, "You got away with it for 41 years!"

Some things never change. They just stay the same.

They may give the appearance of change. The veneer, or facade may change, but some things just don't change at all. Like your core beliefs. Your basic foundation of rights and wrongs steeped in your fiber since birth and later what you overheard on the front porch and in the back seat. It shapes you as a human being and later lies dormant in your soul.

A jury of one's peers in Philadelphia, MS, doesn't change. They may claim collective growth and tolerance. Even acceptance. Yes, look how we've grown. The local KKK may no longer meet in their town square or blatantly burn crosses in mixed race families' yards. But everybody knows the score.

Some things never change. They just stay the same.

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**This was written during Killen's trial and before his sentencing. I'm surprised he got the maximum sentence of 60 years, which at least chips away at some of the justice due those three families.

Jurors declined to convict Edgar Ray Killen of murder, opting for the lesser charge of manslaughter which probably won't amount to much.**