MINNEAPOLIS — For Deborah Watts and her family, it's been 66 years of waiting.
"We just can't allow Emmett's death to be in vain," said Watts.
On Monday, a federal investigation that re-examined the murder of Emmett Till said the U.S. Department of Justice failed to find proof that a key figure in the case lied, according to a news release.
The investigation was done as part of its Cold Case Initiative – an effort to identify and investigate racially motivated murders committed decades ago.
"When the DOJ announced they closed the investigation, I was gravely disappointed and frankly shocked," said Watts.
The DOJ noted Till's death is one of the most infamous acts of racial violence in the country's history.
Till, a 14-year-old Black teenager from Chicago, was brutally beaten and shot in the head in 1955, after a white woman said he whistled at her and touched her in a Mississippi store.
Two men, including the woman's husband at the time, were acquitted of Till's murder. Both men have since died, and the woman at the center of the case is still alive.
"Since our 'Justice for Emmett Till' campaign was launched, and a petition, we have been calling for the DOJ and local officials in Mississippi to charge her," said Watts.
While Watts says the DOJ announcement came as a shock, she's pushing forward.
"With Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett's life that was vibrant at the time, and the family's hope for justice, we have our ancestors who are gone rooting for us to make this happen," said Watts.
In the end, she's continuing her family's fight for justice.
"We don't think this is over and we won't rest with the resolution the DOJ has announced, so we are still holding out hope," said Watts.
The full memo can be found here.
For more information on the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and their petition, visit the website here.