Mississippi Trial, 1955: Chapters 15–17

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
30 words 285 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    Spectators, newsmen, and photographers jammed the foyer outside the courtroom, and everybody was waiting for something big to happen.
  2. summary
    performed speedily and without formality
    His abduction at gunpoint was unjustified. This was a summary court-martial with the death penalty.
  3. court-martial
    a trial that is conducted by a military tribunal
    His abduction at gunpoint was unjustified. This was a summary court-martial with the death penalty.
  4. implicate
    bring into intimate and incriminating connection
    Mrs. Bryant’s own testimony did nothing to implicate Till in the incident at her store.
  5. calculating
    good at tricking people to get something
    My friends, these cold, calculating groups along with the Northern media are doing everything they can to disrupt this trial, to destroy the South.
  6. verdict
    findings of a jury on issues submitted to it for decision
    If your verdict is guilty, I want you to come to me and tell me where is the land of the free and the home of the brave.
  7. foreman
    a juror who acts as the leader and spokesperson of a jury
    When the judge asked them if they had a verdict for Bryant and Milam, the foreman stood up.
  8. acquit
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    “It’s over for those two boys, that’s for sure. Once you’re acquitted of a crime, you can’t be tried for it again.”
  9. thorough
    performed comprehensively and completely
    The authorities did a thorough investigation, and there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Bryant and Milam.
  10. reliability
    the quality of being dependable
    Rumors are always flying around in cases like these, and the lawyers made it clear that those Negro witnesses lacked reliability.
  11. appeal
    a legal proceeding to review a lower court decision
    “What about an appeal? Won’t Mr. Chatham take it to another court? Can’t he keep fighting it, maybe try to go after the other people involved?”
  12. entitled
    qualified for by right according to law
    Maybe you didn’t know this, son, but in the United States of America, citizens are entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers, and the verdict of the jury stands.
  13. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    He touched his nose gingerly, then looked up at the sky for a moment before walking past me.
  14. anxious
    eagerly desirous
    It surprised me that Grampa was so cheerful about my leaving. Sure, I was anxious to get out of there as fast as I could, but I’d expected him to start with the usual sales pitch to stay in Greenwood.
  15. prattle
    speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly
    Yes, yes, I do prattle on sometimes.
  16. comprehensive
    including all or everything
    They covered it well, don’t you think? Something in there, even nice photos, about the trial every day. Comprehensive coverage, I’d say.
  17. circumstantial
    suggesting that something is true without proving it
    Circumstantial evidence, of course, of course. It proves very little or nothing, he said.
  18. assure
    make a promise or commitment
    We assured him, as I’m assuring you, that we would never tell anyone anything.
  19. hallucination
    illusory perception
    Had it been a dream? Had I even seen him? Maybe it was all some sort of hallucination.
  20. wither
    lose freshness, vigor, or vitality
    I could say it, watch my grandfather and know. I’d know immediately, know if my roots were solid as ever or if they’d withered and rotted.
  21. in vain
    without a successful result or effect
    All that grief and suffering that boy’s poor mama’s been through, Lord, I hope it ain’t all in vain.
  22. lacquer
    coat with varnish
    When I got through that, Ruthanne brought out a slab of ham lacquered with honey glaze.
  23. alibi
    proof that someone accused of a crime could not have done it
    “You know,” he interrupted, “I finally did talk to R.C. about his involvement with the trouble up in Money. The boy had an airtight alibi.”
  24. necessarily
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    “Folks sometimes do ugly things, Hiram, but that don’t necessarily make them evil. A lot of good folks just make stupid decisions or get themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
  25. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    Apparently the prosecution had decided either that Mose Wright’s testimony was faulty or there wasn’t sufficient evidence that others had helped Bryant and Milam do anything.
  26. sensational
    causing intense interest, curiosity, or emotion
    I’m sure there will be rumors floating around for a while—there always are after a sensational trial—but soon enough those will die down and things will get back to normal.
  27. slat
    a thin strip of wood or metal
    I set my bags on a wooden slat bench on the platform and was ready to walk to a drugstore on Carrollton Avenue to pick something up when I saw her.
  28. civil right
    right belonging to a person by reason of citizenship
    Of course he’d follow a civil rights case, especially when it was in Mississippi, and he probably couldn’t wait to get my eyewitness account of the whole trial.
  29. antsy
    nervous and unable to relax
    “Better, now that school’s started. The kids were getting pretty antsy the last couple weeks of summer. Too much time on their hands was not a good thing.”
  30. register
    enter into someone's consciousness
    “Yeah, but it took me a while to notice that. I guess when I was a little kid, that was all going on over my head. At least it never registered with me.”
Created on Tue Jun 06 14:11:28 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 14 16:46:23 EDT 2023)

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