The white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of making improper advances before he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 says she neither identified him to the killers nor wanted him murdered.
In an unpublished memoir obtained by The Associated Press, Carolyn Bryant Donham says she was unaware of what would happen to the 14-year-old Till, who lived in Chicago and was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was abducted, killed and tossed in a river. Now 87, Donham was only 21 at the time. Her then-husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were acquitted of murder charges but later confessed in a magazine interview.
The contents of the 99-page manuscript, titled 鈥淚 am More Than A Wolf Whistle,鈥 were first reported by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. Historian and author Timothy Tyson of Durham, who said he obtained a copy from Donham while interviewing her in 2008, provided a copy to the AP on Thursday.
Tyson had placed the manuscript in an archive at the University of North Carolina with the agreement that it not be made public for decades, though he said he gave it to the FBI during an investigation the agency concluded in 2007. He said he decided to make it public now following the recent discovery of an arrest warrant on kidnapping charges that was issued for Donham in 1955 but never served.
鈥淭he potential for an investigation was more important than the archival agreements, though those are important things,鈥 Tyson said. 鈥淏ut this is probably the last chance for an indictment in this case.鈥
In the memoir, Donham says she attempted to help Till once he'd been located by her husband and brother-in-law and brought to her in the middle of the night for identification.
鈥淚 did not wish Emmett any harm and could not stop harm from coming to him, since I didn't know what was planned for him,鈥 Donham says in the manuscript compiled by her daughter-in-law. 鈥淚 tried to protect him by telling Roy that `He's not the one. That's not him. Please take him home.鈥' She claims in the manuscript that Till, who had been dragged from a family home at gunpoint in the middle of the night, spoke up and identified himself.
Donham adds that she 鈥渁lways felt like a victim as well as Emmett鈥 and 鈥減aid dearly with an altered life鈥 for what happened to him.
鈥淚 have always prayed that God would bless Emmett's family. I am truly sorry for the pain his family was caused,鈥 she says at the end of the manuscript, which is signed 鈥淐arolyn鈥 but indicates that it was written by her daughter-in-law Marsha Bryant.
The memoir is remarkable not only because it's the most extensive account of the sensational episode ever recorded by Donham, but also because it contains contradictions that raise questions about her truthfulness through the years, said Dale Killinger, a retired FBI agent who investigated the case more than 15 years ago.
For instance, Donham claims in the memoir to have yelled for help after being confronted by Till inside the family grocery store in Money, Mississippi, yet no one ever reported hearing her screams, Killinger said. Also, Donham never previously mentioned that she and Roy Bryant chatted about the abduction. In the manuscript, she says they did.
鈥淭hat seems ludicrous,鈥 Killinger said. 鈥淗ow would you have a major event in your life and not talk about it?鈥
The Justice Department closed its most recent investigation into the case in December and Mississippi authorities haven't given any indication they plan to pursue the kidnapping warrant or other charges against Donham. But the Till family is pushing authorities to act.
Keith Beauchamp, a filmmaker whose documentary preceded the Justice Department probe in which Killinger was involved and that ended without charges in 2007, said the memoir shows that Donham 鈥渋s culpable in the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Louis Till and to not hold her accountable for her actions, is an injustice to us all.鈥
鈥淥ur fight will continue until justice is finally served,鈥 Beauchamp said.
It was Beauchamp, along with two of Till's relatives, who discovered the arrest warrant with Donham's name on it earlier this month in the basement of a Mississippi courthouse.
Tyson, the historian who provided the roughly 35,000-word manuscript to the AP, helped spur the government's most recent investigation into the killing by publishing a book in 2017 in which he quoted Donham as saying she lied when she claimed Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances. In the memoir, however, she claims Till did do those things. During the most recent investigation, Donham told the FBI she had never recanted, the Justice Department said.
Tyson said Donham's statements in the memoir exonerating herself of wrongdoing need to be taken with 鈥渁 good-sized shovel full of salt,鈥 particularly her claim that Till identified himself to the men who took him from the family home and later admitted killing him.
鈥淭wo big white men with guns came and dragged him out of his aunt and great-uncle's house at 2 o'clock in the morning in the Mississippi Delta in 1955. I do not believe for one minute that he identified himself,鈥 Tyson said.
Neither Donham nor any of her relatives have responded to messages and phone calls from the AP seeking comment. It is unclear where Donham currently lives or if she has an attorney. Her last known address was in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Reeves reported from Birmingham, Alabama. He is a member of AP's Race and Ethnicity Team.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
As U.S. regulators push for an investigation into what they call 'deadly baby and toddler products' from foreign e-commerce sites, health officials in Canada say they haven't determined whether any laws or regulations have been broken.
In his column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that the dramatic side to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and his tendency to 'play everything to the hilt,' could well become his undoing.
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced a few closures in an abundance of caution.
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
A Saskatoon mom is desperately fighting eviction after she discovered mould in her suite and reported it to her landlord.
Police arrested a man accused of setting an animal on fire in Orillia, Ont. last month.
The federal government announced 14 new properties will be added to the Canada Public Land Bank, the list of federal properties that could be turned into new homes, including seven in Ottawa and two in Gatineau, Que.
Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been denied bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and an 11-year prison sentence.
A wildlife rescue in B.C. is caring for two orphaned bobcat kittens who have become as inseparable as 'real sisters' even though it's highly unlikely they are actually from the same litter.
A German court on Tuesday acquitted a man who is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in a trial on charges of unrelated sexual offences.
Kamala Harris called Donald Trump 'incredibly irresponsible' for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene's destruction, offering especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day.
Britain is facing a "staggering rise" in assassination attempts on U.K. soil by Russia and Iran, as the hostile states recruit criminals to "do their dirty work" for them, the head of the U.K.'s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday.
A World Health Organization official warned on Tuesday of disease outbreaks in Lebanon due to crowded conditions in displacement shelters and hospital closures as medics have fled Israel's assault.
A canyoneer died in Zion National Park after falling between 150 and 200 feet near the the Upper Emerald Pool in southwest Utah, according to the National Park Service.
The mayor of a state capital in southern Mexico has been killed just one week after he took office, officials said Sunday.
A federal inquiry into foreign interference is slated to hear today from current and former officials of Public Safety Canada.
In his column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that the dramatic side to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and his tendency to 'play everything to the hilt,' could well become his undoing.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Iran following last week's ballistic missile attack, saying that right includes 'proactively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil installations to defund the terrorist regime.'
AI scribe technology holds the promise of removing some of that burden. However, uptake in Canada has been low due to privacy and cost concerns.
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
Georgia's highest court reinstated a ban on nearly all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy on Monday while it considers the U.S. state's appeal of last week's ruling by a lower court judge blocking the law.
A British-Canadian researcher has won the Nobel Prize in physics for work developing the foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The University of Toronto's Geoffrey Hinton was awarded the prize Tuesday morning, along with Princeton University researcher John Hopfield.
The best minds in science will be thrust from academic obscurity into the spotlight this week when the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine are announced. However, there is no shortage of Nobel-worthy discoveries: Here are five breakthroughs that haven't resulted in a life-changing call from Stockholm 鈥 at least not yet.
A spacecraft blasted off Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash.
An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month.
The "Star Trek" star, Chris Pine, has a new children's book out, titled "When Digz the Dog Met Zurl the Squirrel: A Short Tale About a Short Tail."
Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, has died. She was 91.
A new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is sending a stark warning ahead of the U.S. presidential election, saying protectionist policies like Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could damage economies on both sides of the border.
Inflation and higher interest rates have eroded Canadians' purchasing power since 2022, particularly for lower-income households, a new report from the parliamentary budget officer has found.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
When it comes to raising a child, the majority of fathers say they share tasks equally, but fewer mothers tend to say the same thing, according to a Statistics Canada survey.
Gerontologist Jay Olshansky is used to backlash about his views on human longevity. Decades ago he and his coauthors predicted children, on average, would live to only age 85 鈥 only 1 per cent to 5 per cent might survive until their 100th birthday.
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it鈥檚 hard to do, because they aren鈥檛 excited about veggies or just don鈥檛 like them.
FIFA banned Italian soccer player Marco Curto for 10 games for making a discriminatory remark at South Korea forward Hee Chan Hwang in a preseason game between Como and Wolverhampton.
A former WWE employee who filed a lawsuit against the company and ex-leader Vince McMahon, accusing him of sexual battery and trafficking, is asking them to not enforce nondisclosure agreements with other former and current employees and contractors so they can potentially come forward with similar accusations.
Apparently not satisfied with becoming one of the dominant forces in the WNBA, 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark is set to compete in a Pro-Am golf event in November.
New data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) shows that even though claims for auto theft dropped in the first half of 2024 compared to their 2023 peak, the rates of reported theft remain well above those of years prior.
Tesla is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks because the rearview camera image may not activate immediately after shifting into reverse, the fifth recall for the vehicle since it went on sale late last year.
A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services were called to a blaze affecting multiple houses on the 1000 Block of East Pender St.
The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be facing off Tuesday evening for their first and only televised debate ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Here's what viewers can expect.
A wildlife rescue in B.C. is caring for two orphaned bobcat kittens who have become as inseparable as 'real sisters' even though it's highly unlikely they are actually from the same litter.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
The Ontario government has lowered the age for regular mammogram breast screening to allow all woman between the age of 40 and 49 to self-refer for the service.
Convenience stores in Ontario will soon be permitted to sell fortified wines like port and sherry, 麻豆传媒 has learned.
Calgary police are investigating after several shots were fired in the northeast community of Saddle Ridge.
Calgary's police chief said a tribunal that looked into the conduct of Const. Mike Oakey evaluated all the evidence and made the determination he would not be fired or criminally charged.
A home in the southeast Calgary community of Deer Ridge was destroyed in a fire and while a woman and her children living there escaped safely, two of their pets perished.
An Ottawa man who stabbed his wife to death in an attack that also injured his daughter in Ottawa's west end has been found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
The federal government announced 14 new properties will be added to the Canada Public Land Bank, the list of federal properties that could be turned into new homes, including seven in Ottawa and two in Gatineau, Que.
Ontario Provincial Police say the westbound lanes of Hwy. 417 are closed between Innes Road and Highway 174 following an overnight collision.
Quebec coroner G茅hane Kamel will preside over a public enquiry into the deaths of L茅onor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter V茅rane, who were killed in a fire in a heritage building in Old Montreal on Oct. 4 that also left two people injured.
Montreal police (SPVM) arrested a 15-year-old in connection with an alleged arson in Saint-Leonard that occurred on the weekend.
Quebec's Official Opposition accused Transport Minister Genevi猫ve Guilbault of negligence in relation to drunk driving and that she has lost her credibility when it comes to ensuring road safety,
The upper ridge continues to dominate the weather pattern over Alberta.
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
Provincial ministers testified before the House of Commons on Monday, asking the federal government to pay for the cost of the Jasper wildfire.
Nova Scotia is creating an international medical graduate assessment centre to recruit and fast-track more internationally-trained physicians to work in the province and address the doctor shortage.
The price of diesel jumped nine cents overnight in Nova Scotia after the province鈥檚 Utility and Review Board (UARB) invoked its interrupter clause.
Former Liberal MP Andy Fillmore is still the frontrunner in the Halifax Regional Municipality mayoral race, but Waye Mason is gaining ground, according to one poll.
Manitoba health-care support workers will not be hitting the picket line on Tuesday morning.
After concerns were raised in the summer, it appears some 7-Eleven stores in Winnipeg may be shutting down because of crime.
One man was taken to the hospital on Sunday after an argument on a transit bus ended with a stabbing.
Regina resident Murray Yagelniski says a city-owned tree on his property is the root of the issue behind his basement flooding.
The Saskatchewan NDP says the province's troubled payment and scheduling system for healthcare is only half implemented and has costed taxpayers nearly triple its original price tag so far.
The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan will appear in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday challenging a regulation that it says lets correctional workers discipline inmates without sufficient proof.
In September, 麻豆传媒 Kitchener reported on Sandvine's deals with autocratic governments, including Egypt, where its tech reportedly helped inject spyware into the devices of government critics.
The penalty hearing for Guelph Police constable Corey McArthur has heard from two character witnesses, both supporting an eventual return to policing for the officer who has admitted to assaulting a teen who was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
A Saskatoon mom is desperately fighting eviction after she discovered mould in her suite and reported it to her landlord.
Saskatoon鈥檚 Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) says a staff member arrived to work on Thursday morning to find someone at its doorstep, unresponsive from a suspected drug overdose.
A 36-year-old woman accused of sexually assaulting, physically assaulting and threatening residents at a Saskatchewan care home, was not in court when her matters were spoken to Monday afternoon.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal crash of a side-by-side off-road vehicle east of Parry Sound that killed one and injured another Friday.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
A teacher working on a First Nation in northwestern Ontario has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
A 20 year old is charged with two counts of fail or refusal to comply with demand made by peace officer cause bodily harm, two counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm, two counts of impaired operation cause bodily harm and transport cannabis
Police in Woodstock have charged the driver of a black Volkswagen Jetta after it was seen leaving the scene of a crash. Around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Dundas Street and Waterloo Street.
Police arrested a man accused of setting an animal on fire in Orillia, Ont. last month.
One person was rescued after being trapped in a vehicle that was involved in a multi-car crash in Orillia late Monday afternoon.
The fate of a Barrie man charged with the death of a young mother 30 years ago now rests in the hands of a jury.
Essex County OPP say a 17-year-old Leamington driver was caught going 101 kilometres per hour over the posted speed limit.
Delays are to be expected Tuesday morning after a crash in Essex County. According to OPP, the crash happened at Walker Road and Highway 3 in Tecumseh.
The Windsor Utilities Commission (WUC) has begun the decommissioning of its old Water Treatment Plant.
The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be facing off Tuesday evening for their first and only televised debate ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Here's what viewers can expect.
Major crime investigators have been called to the scene of a suspected homicide in the northern Vancouver Island community of Port Hardy.
Child care was front and centre Monday for the BC NDP, its leader David Eby promoting the party's campaign promises.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.
Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week 鈥 and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.
A Lethbridge police officer involved in a scandal involving former Lethbridge New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips has been reprimanded.
Lethbridge police say a man who escaped from a psychiatric ward at the Chinook Regional Hospital has been found.
While the summer may be over, construction season in Lethbridge is not.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is the latest organization to call on the Doug Ford government to re-open dialogue with an airline service that transports lower-income Canadians to crucial medical care far from home.
For decades, Mississauga First Nation has known that human remains from their land were at the Canadian Museum of History.
Greater Sudbury in partnership with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is hosting the organization's annual mining conference.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people鈥檚 basic human right to food.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
