Mississippi Civil Rights Workers' Murders - Lynch Mob Forms

Lynch Mob Forms

Although federal authorities believed they were many others that took part in the Neshoba County lynching, only ten men were charged with the actual murder of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. One of these men included the county’s Deputy Sheriff who played a crucial role in implementing the conspiracy. Before his friend Lawrence A. Rainey was elected to become Sheriff in 1963, Price worked as a salesman, bouncer, and a fireman. Cecil R. Price had no prior experience in local law enforcement. The twenty-six year old Price was the only person who witnessed the entire event. He arrested the three men, released them the night of the murders, and chased them down state highway 19 toward Meridian, eventually re-capturing them at the intersection near House, Mississippi. Price and the other nine men would escort them north along highway 19 to Rock Cut Road where the three civil rights workers would be murdered. All hopes for a “tell all” confession faded when Price, in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, fell to his death during a machinery accident in 2001.

Killen went to Meridian earlier that Sunday to organize and recruit men for the job to be carried out in Neshoba County. Before the men left for Philadelphia Travis M. Barnette, 36, was went his Meridian home to take care of a sick family member. Travis Barnette was the owner of a Meridian garage and was a member of the White Knights. Alton W. Roberts, 26, was a dishonorably discharged U.S. Marine and worked as a salesman in Meridian. Roberts, standing at 6’3’’ and weighing in at 225 lbs, was a formidable foe and renowned for his short temper. According to witnesses, Roberts shot both Goodman and Schwerner at point black range. He also shot Chaney in the head after Jordan shot him in the abdomen. Roberts is known for saying “are you that nigger lover” and shooting Schwerner after he responded with a “Sir, I know just how you feel.” Jimmy K. Arledge, 27, and Jimmy Snowden, 31, were both Meridian commercial drivers. Arledge, a high school drop-out, and Snowden, a U.S. Army veteran, were present during the murders. After the second arrest by Price, Arledge would drive the CORE station wagon from state highway 492 to Rock Cut Road.

Jerry M. Sharpe, Billy W. Posey, and Jimmy L. Townsend were all from Philadelphia. Sharpe, 21, ran a pulp wood supply house. The twenty-eight year old Posey, a Williamsville, Ms Automobile mechanic, owned a 1958 red and white Chevrolet car; the car was considered to be fast and was chosen over Sharpe’s. The youngest was the seventeen year old Townsend; he left high school in 1964 to work at Posey’s Phillips 66 garage. Horace D. Barnette, 25, was the younger half brother of Travis. He had a 1957 two-toned blue Ford Fairlane sedan. Horace Barnette’s car is the one they took after Posey’s car broke down. James Jordan, 38, has been claimed as the killer of Chaney. Jordan confessed his crimes to the federal authorities in exchange of a plea deal.