Mississippi Trial, 1955: Chapters 12–14

by Chris Crowe
In this historical fiction, sixteen-year-old Hiram Hillburn crosses paths with fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, whom he unsuccessfully tries to protect from the hateful intentions he has grown more aware of in his birthplace of Greenwood, Mississippi.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–14, Chapters 15–17
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. subpoena
    a writ issued to compel the attendance of a witness
    “Sign here, and that lets the judge know you received this subpoena to appear in court.”
  2. agitator
    a political troublemaker
    Last I checked, we’re still living in the United States of America, regardless of what the NAACP and those outside agitators say.
  3. gall
    irritate or vex
    He’s been in trouble with the law plenty of times before, but this time it galls Pa something awful.
  4. caravan
    a procession traveling together in single file
    Somebody even said a caravan of one thousand Negroes was on its way down from Chicago to go after Milam and Bryant, and that worried the sheriff enough that he called in the National Guard to protect the county jail.
  5. indict
    accuse formally of a crime
    On Tuesday, the same day they had a huge funeral for Emmett up in Chicago, the big news around Greenwood, news that surprised most everybody, including Grampa, was that the grand jury had indicted Milam and Bryant for murder and kidnapping.
  6. plead
    enter a defendant's answer
    Even though they’d already admitted to kidnapping Emmett Till, they pleaded innocent to both charges.
  7. obliged
    having a moral duty to do something
    “If I knew something that proved those two didn’t kill that boy, I’d feel obliged to testify, and if I had something that would convict ’em, well, I’d have to plan on closing my shop and heading somewhere far away from Mississippi. But I’d speak up.”
  8. conscience
    conformity to one's own sense of right conduct
    Naomi never showed up that night, and I was left alone with nothing but my own conscience to help me decide what to do.
  9. credentials
    a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
    Then the press—if you’ve got proper credentials.
  10. hostile
    characterized by enmity or ill will
    Grampa guessed about 300 people were sitting there waiting for the trial to begin; I counted only thirty-five Negroes, and most of them looked like they’d rather be anywhere but sitting in a hostile courtroom.
  11. attorney
    a professional person authorized to practice law
    The main lawyer for Bryant and Milam was J. J. Breland, an attorney from Sumner who Grampa knew from some previous dealings.
  12. impartial
    free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
    The state is going to take every precaution to see that we have a fair and impartial jury.
  13. bailiff
    officer of the court employed to execute writs and processes
    You people who can’t be respectful of the law might just as well leave now, because if I hear any more nonsense, I’ll have the bailiff throw you out.
  14. prospective
    of or concerned with or related to the future
    He looked at the judge and then at the men waiting to be interviewed and said, “I’m not going to give the prospective jurors a chance to disqualify themselves because they don’t believe in a death sentence,” and as soon as he said it, almost everyone in the room started talking while Judge Swango banged his gavel again.
  15. recess
    a state when work or action are paused
    During the noon recess Grampa bought me lunch at a crowded café across the street from the courthouse.
  16. alternate
    someone who takes the place of another person
    Tuesday morning dragged like Monday had, but finally, after the lawyers had interviewed more than 100 white men, Judge Swango ordered the twelve jurors and one alternate to sit in a group of chairs on his right and gave them instructions, stuff we’d all heard several times from the lawyers.
  17. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    “There’s trouble brewing, son. This trial’s got people riled up, and no telling what some hothead might do, especially if he knows you’re on the potential witness list.”
  18. spectator
    a close observer; someone who looks at something
    The courtroom was so packed with spectators that the small old Negro man had to push his way through the crowd to get to the witness chair.
  19. substantiate
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    Your Honor, I object to this wild unsubstantiated testimony.
  20. upstanding
    meriting respect or esteem
    No problem with white folks, yet there you sit accusing two of our upstanding white citizens of barging into your home in the middle of the night, pointing a gun and a flashlight in your face, and hauling off your nephew.
  21. farfetched
    highly imaginative but unlikely
    No problem with white folks, yet there you sit accusing two of our upstanding white citizens of barging into your home in the middle of the night, pointing a gun and a flashlight in your face, and hauling off your nephew. That sounds pretty far-fetched to me, Mose.
  22. ascribe
    attribute or credit to
    I tell you what, Mose, this sure is somebody’s kind of truth, but I wouldn’t be ascribing it to God.
  23. pertinent
    having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand
    We object to this witness and insist the jury be excused until we can see if this witness is qualified to testify as to facts pertinent to this case.
  24. relevance
    the relation of something to the matter at hand
    “Your Honor, this testimony has no relevance to the charges of murder for which this court is convened, and I move that it be disallowed from jury and the trial records.”
  25. homicide
    the killing of a human being by another human being
    The state must first prove Emmett Till was murdered. The only proof is that the boy is missing. There’s no evidence of criminal homicide.
  26. mortician
    one whose business is the management of funerals
    “Chester, can you tell me what you do for a living?”
    “Collect folks’ dead ones and get ’em buried.”
    “So you’re a mortician?”
  27. faze
    disturb the composure of
    The description of Emmett’s corpse didn’t even faze him; you could tell he didn’t care a hoot about this Negro boy who’d been tortured and murdered.
  28. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    When Mr. Chatham asked him if he knew the cause of death, the sheriff looked smug and said, “He had a bullet hole just above the ear.”
  29. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    “Emmett was born and raised in Chicago,” she told Mr. Chatham, “so he didn’t know how to be humble to white people. I warned him before he came down here; I told him to be very careful how he spoke and to say ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, ma’am’ and not to hesitate to humble himself if he had to get down on his knees.”
  30. somber
    serious and gloomy in character
    Her face became even more somber as she looked at it and nodded; then handed it back to Mr. Chatham. “That’s my son,” she said softly, “my son, Emmett Till.” Her voice broke, and she took off her glasses to wipe away tears.
  31. objection
    procedure whereby a party to a suit deems a matter improper
    “Objection!” shouted Mr. Breland. “Your Honor, I object to this witness!”
  32. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    This witness is merely speculating about what might or might not have happened.
  33. deliberation
    (usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question
    “It is not immediately relevant to this case and may prejudice the jury’s deliberations. However, I will direct that it be entered into the court record.”
  34. brogue
    a strong regional accent, especially an Irish or Scottish accent
    I noticed that he spoke with a Northern brogue.
  35. accost
    approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
    “Was this Negro man who accosted you Emmett Till?”
Created on Tue Jun 06 14:10:38 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 14 16:00:23 EDT 2023)

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