Judge Won't Toss Lawsuit in 64 Slaying

JACKSON, Miss. - A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against a southwest Mississippi county that claims law enforcement was complicit in the 1964 killings of two black teenagers.

Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee were abducted and killed by Klansmen in Franklin County on May 2, 1964. No one was held accountable until 2007, when James Ford Seale was convicted of federal kidnapping charges.

Dee and Moore's relatives sued Franklin County in 2008, saying testimony in Seale's case revealed that a sheriff aided the Klan.

Fanklin County claimed the statute of limitations had passed and wanted the case dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee ruled Tuesday that the statute of limitations didn't start until 2007 when the families had reason to suspect that officials were involved.

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