Mississippi teen pleads not guilty in hate crime case
Jackson, Mississippi (CNN) — A white Mississippi teenager accused of murdering an African-American man in a hate crime pleaded not guilty in his arraignment Friday.
Deryl Dedmon, 19, is charged with capital murder and a hate crime in the death of James Craig Anderson, stemming from an incident involving a gang of white teenagers who allegedly attacked Anderson early in the morning of June 26.
Dedmon showed no emotion, expressed no remorse, and made no further statements at the hearing before Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill Friday morning.
The teenager was part of a group of seven white teens, all from largely white Rankin County who, after a night of partying and drinking, decided to “go fuck with some niggers,” law enforcement officials have said, quoting some of the suspects in the case.
The teens drove 16 miles in two vehicles from Rankin County to Jackson, where after exiting the highway they found Anderson alone in a parking lot at about 4 a.m. on Sunday June 26. The teens allegedly beat him repeatedly, yelling racial epithets. After the beating, Dedmon drove his Ford F-250 truck over Anderson, leaving him to die of his wounds, according to what some of the teens cooperating with police have told authorities.
The Hinds County District Attorney, Robert Shuler Smith, who is prosecuting the case, has said he and his team “believe that the evidence will show that these teenagers went out with the intention to harm and, in this case, kill a black man.”
Dedmon is the only one of the teens in jail at this time; his bond was denied again on Friday..
Anderson’s death drew national attention after CNN first reported it and aired exclusive surveillance video of the actual killing, captured by a parking lot security camera in a Jackson suburb.
U.S. Department of Justice investigators are now in Jackson, investigating the death as a possible federal hate crime and assisting local prosecutors. The killing has also prompted several large marches and prayer vigils in Jackson, a city of about 537,000 people.
Dedmon, of Brandon, Mississippi, is facing the death penalty if convicted. A second teen, John Aaron Rice, 18, was initially charged with murder, but a judge reduced the charges to simple assault because Rice was not believed to be driving the vehicle used to kill Anderson.
The family of Anderson has sent a letter asking state and federal officials not to seek the death penalty against the white teens.
“We ask that you not seek the death penalty for anyone involved in James’ murder,” the letter states; the letter is signed by Barbara Anderson Young, Anderson’s sister who is in charge of, and speaks for, the estate of Anderson.
The letter states that the family is opposed to the death penalty partly for religious convictions of faith.
“Our opposition to the death penalty is deeply rooted in our religious faith, a faith that was central in James’ life as well,” the letter states. But the letter also goes on to explain that there is a historical reason for the family’s opposition that is tied to Mississippi’s racial past.
“We also oppose the death penalty because it historically has been used in Mississippi and the South primarily against people of color for killing whites,” the letter states. “Executing James’ killers will not help to balance the scales. But sparing them may help to spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment.”