The Clarion-Ledger<\/em> in Jackson, Miss., helped put four Klansman behind bars for murder and earned him more than 30 national awards, including the Ralph McGill Medal for Courage, a MacArthur Foundation genius grant and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service.<\/p>\nMitchell said the movie \u201cMississippi Burning\u201d inspired him to look further into the old civil rights case during his presentation, which was sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication as part of the College of Sciences\u2019 Distinguished Speaker series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was unaware of the violence that took place,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just shocked me. Here were these three kids that were killed by more than 20 Klansmen and nobody had ever been prosecuted for murder in that case.\u201d<\/p>\n
He saw the movie in 1989 when he was 29 years old. Since then, his work has led authorities to reexamine 29 killings and make 22 convictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most amazing thing has not been the convictions, but the racial reconciliations,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Michael Gilmore, a journalism pending major, attended the speech to learn more about investigative reporting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to know what obstacles he came into and how he was able to get all the documents that were sealed from the public,\u201d Gilmore said.<\/p>\n
Other audience members asked how he got his sources– many of them suspects in murder cases– to continue speaking to him.<\/p>\n
People are usually more than willing to talk about themselves, he said. Some of the best quotes he\u2019s ever gotten were not to questions he asked, but rather casually given to him by the sources. However, Mitchell said his reporting of incriminating quotes and information has made him a target.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has not been real popular,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not throwing a parade for me in Mississippi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell has been bullied, sent threatening letters and been a target of intimidation. He\u2019s had sources threaten him and an editor try to stop him from writing his stories.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s dedicated, and he won\u2019t back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not gonna be bullied into not doing something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s not going to give the criminals a pass because their crimes were committed more than 30 years ago. \u201cThese were young killers who just happened to get old,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Robert Chandler, director of the Nicholson School of Communication, said Mitchell was invited to speak at UCF because he represents what someone can do with a degree in journalism.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not just reported history, he\u2019s changed it,\u201d said Chandler.<\/p>\n
Editor’s Note: <\/strong>This story was written by Samantha Dilday, a UCF journalism student.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell told a University of Central Florida audience Tuesday night how he got his hands on sealed documents, interviewed suspects and helped unearth evidence in civil rights era killings. 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