On June 26th, 2011, a black auto plant worker in Jackson, Mississippi was brutally murdered by a group of white teenagers. The perpetrators, apparently on the prowl looking for a black person to hurt, spotted 48-year-old James Craig Anderson standing in a parking lot next to his car. The group proceeded to viciously beat Anderson, while yelling "White Power!" and calling him a "nigger." The teens then got into their Ford F250 pickup truck and drove it over Anderson, instantly killing him. Now, the victim's family has filed a wrongful-death suit against the group of teens the police say is responsible. However, one family member cannot join the suit: James Bradfield, Anderson's partner of 17 years. According to Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center, under Mississippi law "same-sex partners have no claim in civil actions like this."
CNN article on the murder:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/06/mississippi.hate.crime/index.html
New York Times article concerning the wrongful-death suit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/us/07jackson.html?_r=2&hpw
