Bending Toward Justice

Posted on 02 April 2018 by Doug Jones

The story of the decades long fight to bring justice to the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, culminating in Sen Doug Jones prosecution of the last living bombers On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed The blast killed four young girls and injured twenty two others The FBI suspected four particularly radical Ku Klux Klan members Yet due to reluctant witnesses, a lack of physical evidence, and pervasive racial prejudice the case was closed without any indictments.But as Martin Luther King, Jr famously expressed it, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice Years later, Alabama Attorney General William Baxley reopened the case, ultimately convicting one of the bombers in 1977 Another suspect passed away in 1994, and US Attorney Doug Jones tried and convicted the final two in 2001 and 2002, representing the correction of an outrageous miscarriage of justice nearly forty years in the making Jones himself went on to win election as Alabama s first Democratic Senator since 1992 in a dramatic race against Republican challenger Roy MooreBending Toward Justice is a dramatic and compulsively readable account of a key moment in our long national struggle for equality, related by an author who played a major role in these events A distinguished work of legal and personal history, the book is destined to take its place alongside other canonical civil rights histories like Parting the Waters and Mississippi Burning. Read Bending Toward Justice by Doug Jones – kino-fada.fr The story is a compelling one the 1963 murder, by bombing, of four little African American girls in their Birmingham church This is Doug Jones personal account of his prosecution, in 2001 and 2002 as U.S Attorney in Alabama, of the last two defendants This book centers on the crime, the tumultuous period of civil rights conflict in those early years, and, further on, the long delayed investigation and trial.This book is an as told to account, understandably, since Doug Jones is, as of lat The story is a compelling one the 1963 murder, by bombing, of four little African American girls in their Birmingham church This is Doug Jones personal account of his prosecution, in 2001 and 2002 as U.S Attorney in Alabama, of the last two defendants This book centers on the crime, the tumultuous period of civil rights conflict in those early years, and, further on, the long delayed investigation and trial.This book is an as told to account, understandably, since Doug Jones is, as of late 2017, a newly elected US Senator Nonetheless, the narrative is readable, and seems personal, in his voice if not entirely his prose It s not a political biography, either, though he does mention his election in the final chapters as something of an epilogue The book is mainly about an important part of the civil rights struggle, about a dreadful terrorist crime, and about the long effort to bring ab...Doug Jones was the prosecutor who convicted two of the Klansman for their bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, murdering four girls getting ready for Sunday School The bombing was in 1963, his first prosecution was 37 years later, the second prosecution after that.I admire Jones, in both his book and in the trials, for keeping focus on the four murdered girls Carole Robertson, Addie May Collins, Cynthia Morris Wesley, and Carol Denise McNair Like any good prosecuto Doug Jones was the prosecutor who convicted two of the Klansman for their bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, murdering four girls getting ready for Sunday School The bombing was in 1963, his first prosecution was 37 years later, the second prosecution after that.I admire Jones, in both his book and in the trials, for keeping focus on the four murdered girls Carole Robertson, Addie May Collins, Cynthia Morris Wesley, and Carol Denise McNair Like any good prosecutor, he does not shy away from the grisly details of how they died and the descriptions of the crime scene photos His poignant telling of the the mornings of each of the girls including the moments before the bombing and description of the effects of the murders on each family years after the bombing remind the reader why these prosecutions are so important.There is frustration in reading this book A key piece of evidence, a...Part memoir of a new senator, part true crime on the investigation and prosecution of the bombers responsible for the 16th St Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL in 1963, and part political analysis commentary, Jones book is an interesting examination of both then and now in Alabama with larger national implications Despite learning about the bombing as a child in Alabama history, this book made me realize how very little I truly know about the events or the eventually prosecutions This Part memoir of a new senator, part true crime on the investigation and prosecution of the bombers responsible for the 16th St Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL in 1963, and part political analysis commentary, Jones book is an interesting examination of both then and now in Alabama with larger national implications Despite learning about the bombing as a chil...I have to be honest, I could only stomach half of this book I am glad Senator Jones has gotten all the details of this awful event recorded for generations to come However, the subject matter is so sickening, it has put me in a very bad mood I did not grow up in the south, so I only knew the surface of racism I was clueless to the ugliness of racism taken to extremes I think Senator Jones is to be commended for growing into a free thinking adult, and not letting the poison of his hometown c I have to be honest, I could only stomach half of this book I am glad Senator Jones has gotten all the details of this awful event recorded for generations to come However, the subject matter is so sickening, it has put me in a very bad mood I did not grow up in the south, so I only knew the surface of racism I was clueless to the ugliness of racism taken to extremes I think Senator Jones is to be commended for growing into a free thinking adult, and not letting the poison of his hometown corrupt him He holds nothing back in this book How he could deal with these evil people in such a professional and lawful way only proves we can t stereo type all southerners But I assure you, after living in Alabama for 10 years, there is still so much change needing to happen The old south from slave days and the civil war are so physically embedded, I am not sure how many decades it wi...Just read it.BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019Great history of a terrible caseAlabama Senator Doug Jones helped to prosecute two of the bombers of the Birmingham 16th Street Church in 1963 While it took nearly 40 years, his team was able to bring justice for the 4 girls kilos that day This book is part ...What I Liked fairly easy to read it goes beyond just the trials, Jones talks about his early life and his life after the bombing trials not super longWhat I Wasn t A Fan Of although I enjoyed the parts about things outside of the trials, the book was completely marketed as the story of the trials so I feel it was a little misleading to not market it asof a memoir about Jones career that was mostly focused on the trials rather than a history book about just the bombing and trials I What I Liked fairly easy to read it goes beyond just the trials, Jones talks about his early life and his life after the bombing trials not super longWhat I Wasn t A Fan Of although I enjoyed the parts about things outside of the trials, the book was completely marketed as the story of the trials so I feel it was a little misleading to not market it asof a memoir about Jones career that was mostly focused on the trials rather than a history book about just the bombing and trials I really admire Senator Jones but so much of this was like good ole boy talk, not in the hateful way towards anyone but just lots of well hell and what not Just tell the story, it doesn t need all the extra stuff it took a while for me to get into the writing style I m not sure how easy it would be for someone who doesn t regularly read books along this line of nonfiction based in the court system or just historical books in general...Set in the volatile atmosphere of Birmingham Alabama sparked by change with a 1954 Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutional precedent of black and white separate schools, Bending Towards Justice follows the racial anxiety and unrest that finally burst with the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963 that killed 4 young black girls Reopening the case years later, Alabama Attorney General William Baxley sought justice for the murdered girls with the conviction of Klu Klux Klan suspect Set in the volatile atmosphere of Birmingham Alabama sparked by change with a 1954 Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutional precedent of black and white separate schools, Bending Towards Justice follows the racial anxiety and unrest that finally burst with the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963 that killed 4 young black girls Reopening the case years later, Alabama Attorney General William Baxley sought justice for the murdered girls with the conviction of Klu Klux Klan suspect Dynamite Bob in 1977 Yet the wound never healed in the Black Community for 40 years until the final two Klan suspects were tried by US Attorney Doug Jones and convicted.Very readable and...Bending Toward Justice is a detailed, yet highly readable account of the the righting of a terrible wrong An untoward miscarriage of justice reflected in our nations tragic history of racism The crime the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL caused the death of 4 innocent little girls and the injury of 22 others The perpetrators were believed to be local members of the Ku Klux Klan who were unhappy about, among other things, the upcoming integration of the City Bending Toward Justice is a detailed, yet highly readable account of the the righting of a terrible wrong An untoward miscarriage of justice reflected in our nations tragic history of racism The crime the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL caused the death of 4 innocent little girls and the injury of 22 others The perpetrators were believed to be local members of the Ku Klux Klan who were unhappy about, among other things, the upcoming integration of the City s schools who chose to express their disapproval of integration by bombing a local, highly respected African American church The case never went to trial primarily due to a uncooperative witnesses, fear of the KKK and racial attitudes at the time Justice was not served Reopened in 1977, Alabama Attorney General William Baxley successfully obtained a conviction for one of the ...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here This was a great read pick it up whether you re an American and this is your civil rights history worryingly, a history repeating itself , a history buff generally, or without wishing in any way to downplay the significance of the events someone who likes the true crime courtroom drama genre.I guess that s why this is such a great book it has an important story but far from being merely worthy , it lays this out in an absolutely gripping way An aside, as a former court reporter I fou This was a great read pick it up whether you re an American and this is your civil rights history worryingly, a history repeating itself , a history buff generally, or without wishing in any way to downplay the significance of the events someone who likes the true crime courtroom drama genre.I guess that s why this is such a great book it has an important story but far from being merely worthy , it lays this out in an absolutely gripping way An aside, as a former court reporter I found the insights into the legal team s strategising fascinating Don t be worried as I was that the lead author is now a politician It doesn t show in the writing which is excellent, in collaboration with Greg Truman and it never overtakes the heart of the story even when we reach recent years and Jones election to the US Senate Yes, the last couple of chapters arepolitical but always in the context of the murder of four girls in ...Doug Jones tells the story of his prosecution of two of the KKK men who, on September 15, 1963, were responsible for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, with resulted in the murder of four young girls and the injury ofthan twenty other people In 2018, Doug Jones was elected by the people of Alabama to represent the state in the United States Senate In this book, he also tells that story, as well as that of his childhood and family life.I found this book Doug Jones tells the story of his prosecution of two of the KKK men who, on September 15, 1963, were responsible for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, with resulted in the murder of four young girls and the injury ofthan twenty other people In 2018, Doug Jones was elected by the people of Alabama to represent the state in the United States S...When the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church happened in 1963 I was the same age as two of those girls fourteen In fact they were born the same month as I was April At the time it was a horrible thing which I did not understand how or why anyone could do such a thing By the time of the trials I was living in Alabama and had a better idea of the why and how When I read Doug Jones was presenting his book in Birmingham in that very church I knew I had to be there It was an informative When the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church happened in 1963 I was the same age as two of those girls fourteen In fact they were born the same month as I was April At the time it was a horrible thing which I did not understand how or why anyone could do such a thing By the time of the trials I was living in Alabama and had a better idea of the why and how When I read Doug Jones was presenting his book in Birmingham in that very church I knew I had to b...Doug Jones was the Attorney General who prosecuted the remaining bombers decades after they the bomb that killed four girls at church, and seriously wounded a fifth This is the story of that prosecution in the context of racism that facilitated the attack It moved me to tears at times It s not uniformly gripping, and I lost track of the many people he talks about, but I really liked it and you can always skim Jones is also good on the need for Democrats not to write off the South as just Doug Jones was the Attorney General who prosecuted the remaining bombers decades after they the bomb that killed four girls at church, and seriously wounded a fifth This is the story of that prosecution in the context of racism that facilitated the attack It moved me to tears at times It s not uniformly gripping, and I lost track of the many people he talks about, but I really liked it and you can always skim Jones is also good on the need for Democrats not to write off the South as jus...

02 April 2018

Doug Jones