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A new twist in '64 racial slaying case

A reinvestigation finds no reason to press new charges, but Bush names a special prosecutor.

By JEAN HELLER and GRAHAM BRINK
Published January 7, 2006

The long legal road in the 1964 killing of Johnnie Mae Chappell took another turn on Friday when Gov. Jeb Bush assigned a special prosecutor to the case.

Bush's decision comes despite another finding from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that it would not be viable to bring new charges.

Bush assigned William Cervone, the state attorney for the 8th Circuit, which includes Gainesville, for one year. Cervone can request more time if he needs it.

The move encouraged Chappell's youngest son, who has tried for years to persuade authorities to charge three men in the killing.

"The family is gratified that there's going to be a fresh look at the case by a special prosecutor," said Robert Spohrer, whose high-profile Jacksonville law firm is representing Shelton Chappell for free. "We hope that another grand jury will be convened because the first grand jury in 1964 found four men indictable in this case, and we have the same evidence today."

Bush's decision perplexed Duval County State Attorney Harry Shorstein, who had jurisdiction over the case. It is rare for a governor to involuntarily remove a state attorney from a case.

"In my judgment it is outrageous to relieve someone who has as strong a record of civil rights prosecution and trial advocacy ... as I have exhibited in my career," Shorstein wrote in a statement.

Mrs. Chappell, a black woman, was shot and left to bleed to death as she walked home from work as a maid for a white family. The killing came during riots in Jacksonville in March 1964 as black protesters demonstrated at hotels and restaurants.

A grand jury indicted four suspects on first-degree murder charges, but only one went to trial. A jury convicted the confessed shooter, J.W. Rich, of manslaughter, and he spent three years in prison.

Chappell supporters want the other three men to be tried.

It will be a struggle.

In 2003, the FDLE reviewed the case and found that further investigation was not warranted, a conclusion Shorstein agreed with. In April, Bush asked the FDLE to reinvestigate. State investigators again found no new evidence to support charges, according to a statement from the FDLE Friday.

The gun, the original Sheriff's Office file and the transcript from Rich's trial all disappeared over the years. The only significant physical evidence that remains is the bullet that killed Chappell. And the statute of limitations appears to have elapsed on any charges except first-degree murder.

Sean Cronin, a lawyer who works with Spohrer, said the law firm was continuing to explore other options, in the event the special prosecutor chooses not to pursue charges. These include civil action against the four men as well as asking the Justice Department to pursue the case as a federal civil rights violation.

"We are exploring every avenue open to us," Cronin said. "Nothing is out of the question."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

[Last modified January 7, 2006, 01:09:14]