FBI Records Could Have Solved A Civil Rights Cold Case. Now It's Too Late
Alabama officials tell NPR that if the FBI had shared its case file, they would have investigated the James Reeb murder case while one of the assailants was still alive.
The murder of the Rev. James Reeb was unsolved for more than 50 years.
Then last month, using the FBI's case file, NPR identified a man who had participated in the attack on Reeb but was never arrested or charged. William Portwood died less than two weeks after reporters Andrew Beck Grace and Chip Brantley confirmed his involvement. At 87, Portwood was the last living person who could have been held to account for Reeb's murder.
Now, Alabama officials who might have pursued prosecution tell NPR that if
