Mississippi Cold Case - Results of The Documentary

Results of The Documentary

Moore’s quest and the documentary about it first caused state officials to re-open their investigation into the case. The case had been re-opened in 2000 by former US Attorney Brad Pigott, but closed again in June 2003 after Pigott and the USDOJ Civil Rights Division decided not to proceed based on the evidence. It was re-opened in early July 2005 after Moore and Ridgen visited US Attorney Dunn Lampton at his office. Previously, Moore and Ridgen had been told that James Seale was dead by a prominent Mississippi journalist, and it had been reported elsewhere in the media. Shortly after arriving in Mississippi, Ridgen and Moore were told on the morning of July 8, 2005 by District Attorney Ronnie Harper that Seale was alive, but they did not believe him. Later that day Ridgen and Moore are told by Moore's cousin Kenny Byrd, that Seale is still alive. It is confirmed when Byrd points out Seale's motor home just a short distance away. Through the course of the production of Mississippi Cold Case, pressure put on the murder conspirators and officials by Thomas Moore over more than twenty four months along with other evidence discovered - including the finding of important witnesses willing to testify and new documents - the case was brought before a Grand Jury, and alleged kidnapper and killer, James Ford Seale, was indicted and arrested. On January 24, 2007, Seale appeared in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi, charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap two persons. Seale pleaded not guilty, and was denied bond on January 29, 2007 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson.

Amid many motion hearings from defense and prosecution, Seale's trial was set for May 30, 2007, in Jackson, Mississippi. Seale was convicted by a majority-white jury on June 14, 2007.

James Seale was sentenced to three life sentences on August 24, 2007 for one count of conspiracy to kidnap two persons and two counts of kidnapping where the victims were not released alive.

On August 5, 2008 Thomas Moore and Thelma Collins, Henry Dee's sister, filed a federal complaint in a Natchez, MS court claiming state complicity in the deaths of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. The suit claims that in Franklin County in 1964, Sheriff Wayne Hutto, and his chief deputy, Kirby Shell, conspired with the Klansmen who abducted and killed Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore. The plaintiffs are seeking a federal jury trial for damages. On June 21, 2010 Franklin County, Mississippi agreed to an undisclosed settlement in the civil suit with the families of Charles Moore and Henry Dee.