Mississippi has a history that most any human being with a heartbeat would lament and try to bury. They've become the poster child for racism and racial injustice--and for good reason. God only knows how much blood has been spilled on her dusty earth. Some of that blood belonged to Medgar Evers, an NAACP field secretary who was bravely working to enfranchise Black Mississippians. He was shot in the back with a high-powered rifle on June 12, 1963. Byron De La Beckwith would be charged with the murder, but two mistrials would see him walk out of court a free man.
"Ghosts of Mississippi" takes the viewer from that fateful night in 1963 to 1989 when the case would be reopened. Assistant DA Bobby DeLaughter (played by Alec Baldwin) would be in charge of looking into the old case and determining if there was enough evidence to retry the case. DeLaughter did more than could ever have been expected of a white ADA in Mississippi; he dug deep. He dug in deep and kept Myrlie Evers (played by Whoopi Goldberg), Medgar's wife, apprised of everything. He dug to the point his traditional dixie wife, Dixie (played by Virginia Madsen), left him. And he was determined to keep digging until Byron De La Beckwith (played by James Woods) saw the inside of a prison.
These types of movies are incredibly difficult to watch--movies such as "Mississippi Burning," "Rosewood," "A Time to Kill," and others. And what makes "Ghosts of Mississippi" even more heart wrenching is that it is 100% true. But watch I did even when my blood was boiling (indicating how good of a job James Woods did). "Ghosts of Mississippi" was a good movie and a necessary movie. But even more necessary was a step by good ol' Mississippi in the right direction towards some semblance of justice for Medgar Evers.
"Ghosts of Mississippi" takes the viewer from that fateful night in 1963 to 1989 when the case would be reopened. Assistant DA Bobby DeLaughter (played by Alec Baldwin) would be in charge of looking into the old case and determining if there was enough evidence to retry the case. DeLaughter did more than could ever have been expected of a white ADA in Mississippi; he dug deep. He dug in deep and kept Myrlie Evers (played by Whoopi Goldberg), Medgar's wife, apprised of everything. He dug to the point his traditional dixie wife, Dixie (played by Virginia Madsen), left him. And he was determined to keep digging until Byron De La Beckwith (played by James Woods) saw the inside of a prison.
These types of movies are incredibly difficult to watch--movies such as "Mississippi Burning," "Rosewood," "A Time to Kill," and others. And what makes "Ghosts of Mississippi" even more heart wrenching is that it is 100% true. But watch I did even when my blood was boiling (indicating how good of a job James Woods did). "Ghosts of Mississippi" was a good movie and a necessary movie. But even more necessary was a step by good ol' Mississippi in the right direction towards some semblance of justice for Medgar Evers.