Arrest Warrant For Emmett Till Accuser Found in Basement of Courthouse

A team searching for documents relating to the lynching death of Emmett Till recently found an unserved arrest warrant for his accuser Carolyn Bryant Donham in the basement of the Leflore County Courthouse in Mississippi. Now, his family members are calling for the warrant to be served 70 years later.

The search for documents was began by members of the Emmett Till Legacy foundation, headed by Till’s cousin Deborah Watts, and her daughter Terri Watts to find evidence regarding Till’s lynching.

The warrant was meant to be issued for a “Mrs. Roy Donham.” The document was found last week in a file folder. In 1955, Donham accused Till of making verbal and physical advances towards her.

Donham’s husband Roy Donham and his brother J.W. Milam mutilated and then killed Till and dumped his body in a nearby river. He was found two days later. Both men went on trial for Till’s murder and were found not guilty. They admitted to their crimes in a magazine interview after the trial.

The warrant accused Donham of kidnapping, and was publicized at the time according to Oxygen. The Leflore County sheriff did not want to “bother” Donham because she was taking care of her two young children.

In a 2008 interview, Donham recanted her story about Till. She was quoted as saying “nothing that boy did that boy did could ever justify what happened to him.” Details of her interview were publicized in 2017.

The Watts want this warrant served to finally obtain some form of justice for Till. Despite the wishes of Till’s family, the Justice Department released a statement in December 2021 about no new prosecution.

According to University of Missisippi law professor Ronald Rychlak, arrest warrants can become stale and would not be accepted in front of a court. However, with new evidence which is brought to light, it could help establish probable cause for a new prosecution.