Emmett Till was only 14 when he was tortured, shot, tied up, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, Roy’s brother-in-law. Carolyn Bryant accused Emmett of sexually harassing her and sent her husband and her brother after him (Perez-Pena). According to the History website, claimed he was so disfigured that he was unrecognizable. The only way they could tell it was Emmett was his initialed ring (History). Emmett’s mother wanted an open-casket service because it was typical in African culture and because she wanted everyone to see what happened to her son because of prejudice mindsets. A picture of his face was published in a magazine which brought attention to the tragedy which prompted them to go to court. For
