GREENVILLE - A cousin of Emmett Till has filed a lawsuit against Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks for not serving a 1955 arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant Donham in connection with Till's death.

"What about Carolyn Bryant at this age?...." asked Priscilla Sterling of the Emmett Till Justice for Families Foundation in a rally last July.

Now, Sterling, a cousin of Till, has taken Sheriff Banks to court in a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court.

The suit involves last year's discovery of the warrant in the basement of the Leflore County Courthouse and the subsequent demands for Sheriff Banks to serve that warrant.

The lawsuit makes several claims against the Sheriff without providing any specifics, say people who have closely examined the filing.

It's interesting to note, Sheriff Banks was just 8 years old at the time of Mr. Till's murder and had no part in the trial or the case.

In an interview with The Delta News last year, Sterling laid out her strong suspicions in this sensational murder case.

"She Never was intended to be arrested and this shows the corruption here that Mississippi still stands and holds tight to,"

"let's go to September the 17th The day of the trial of JW Milam Carolyn Bryant sat in their trial she still was not arrested. So the state of Mississippi did not intend to arrest her," said Sterling.

So far, there's been no response from Sheriff Banks.

Legal experts say the fact that two delta grand juries' refusal to indict Donham in the case, makes the old warrant useless, as the state has no charges pending against her.

The federal government also declined to prosecute anyone in a 2021 investigation.

"What about Carolyn Bryant at this age?.... what about Emmett at 14?" Sterling wants to know.

Our news partners at The Taxpayers Channel have an in-depth look at the lawsuit and analysis.

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