A former member of the Ku Klux Klan has been found guilty of first-degree murder for killing four black girls in the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Thomas Blanton Jr. (62) was sentenced to life in prison after a jury of eight whites and four blacks found him guilty on four counts of murder in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15th, 1963.
"I guess the good Lord will settle sentence on Judgment Day," Blanton, who had denied any involvement in the bombing, said after the verdict.
Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins, all aged 14, and Denise McNair (11) died in the blast, which occurred during a time when thousands of blacks were protesting in the streets against Birmingham's strict segregation laws.
"Justice delayed is still justice, and we've got it right here in Birmingham tonight," said US Attorney Mr Doug Jones, who tried the case under a special agreement with local authorities.
Defence attorney John Robbins, who had expressed fears throughout the 16-day trial that jurors would be swayed by the intense emotions surrounding the case, said he planned to appeal Blanton's conviction.
Blanton was not put on trial earlier because authorities, including former FBI director Mr J. Edgar Hoover, apparently did not believe convictions could be obtained with circumstantial evidence and a racially polarised Birmingham jury.