Three convicted in 1970 death

By TIMOTHY R. BROWN

The Associated Press

BELZONI, Miss. --- Three white men were found guilty Saturday of killing a black sharecropper who was beaten by a mob and dumped off a bridge almost 30 years ago.

The jury deliberated about six hours before returning the verdict, convicting all three on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Earlier Saturday, they had reported they were deadlocked, but the judge urged them to continue deliberating.

James "Doc" Caston, 66, his brother, Charles E. Caston, 64, and their half brother, Hal Crimm, 50, all were charged with murder in the death of Rainey Pool, a one-armed farmer who was killed in 1970. Each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The three were led from the courtroom in handcuffs and ordered held without bond until a sentencing hearing Wednesday.

Pool's family shared smiles, but there was no show of jubilation.

"I felt a little sorrow for my husband," said Betty Pool, the victim's widow.

Pool was beaten by a white mob outside a nightclub near the small Mississippi Delta cotton town of Louise on April 12, 1970. His larynx was crushed in the attack and his body was later dumped off a bridge into the Sunflower River.

The pathologist who performed the autopsy said it was unclear whether Pool was alive or dead when he hit the water, but he testified that the beating eventually would have been fatal.

The case was revived at the request of Pool's family.

"The nature of the crime was a bad one, and I believe they deserve the maximum," District Attorney James Powell said Saturday.

Defense attorney Mark Prewitt declined to comment.

A total of seven white men were blamed for the brutal attack. Two are dead, one was acquitted in June, and a fourth, Joe Oliver Watson, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and agreed to testify against the others.

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