A former member of the Ku Klux Klan has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the 1964 murders of two black teenagers in the southern US state of Mississippi. James Seale, 71, was manacled as he was escorted into court for an initial hearing on kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Seale allegedly aimed a shotgun at Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore while his companions beat them and attached heavy weights to them, before throwing them alive into the Mississippi River.
The former sheriff's deputy will face a maximum life term on each count if convicted.
For years, Seale's family told reporters that he had died.
But in 2005, Mr Moore's brother, Thomas, and a Canadian documentary filmmaker, David Ridgen, found him living a few miles from where the alleged kidnapping took place.
The teenagers were allegedly taken out into the river on board a boat.
One was weighted down with a Jeep engine while the other was tied to metal rails before they were thrown overboard to drown.
Until now, no one had been charged with the murders, although they were long thought to have been abducted and killed by members of the Klan.
"These tragic murders are straight from among the darkest page of our country's history," said FBI Director Robert Mueller.
I cannot believe that it is 2007 and stuff like this is still going on,some people really need to grow up and get along with everyone,we are all on the same p-lanet and should try and get along. It makes me really sad that this still goes on
