John Thomas

     On August 15, 1970, John Thomas, Jr., an African-American man, was fatally shot by Seth Stanley in West Point, Mississippi.  The state arrested Stanley and charged him with murder.  The next year, on October 11, 1971, an all-white jury returned a verdict in favor of Stanley, finding that he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Thomas.  For the reasons stated more fully below, this matter should be closed without prosecution or referral.  Stanley, the only suspect ever identified, is now deceased, and therefore cannot be prosecuted by either state or federal authorities.  In addition, the statute of limitations has long run on any fe deral civil rights crime and Mr. Thomas’s death does not implicate any other federal crimes.  Referral to the state for prosecution is inappropriate both because the suspect is deceased and because the Double Jeopardy clause of the United States Constitution would bar a subsequent state prosecution.