White Teen Accused in Hate Crime Killing of Black Man Says He Was ‘Seeking Revenge’

The AP reports that Deryl Dedmon wanted payback for being robbed weeks earlier. James Craig Anderson payed the ultimate price.

By Jorge Rivas Sep 26, 2011

Deryl Dedmon, the white Mississippi teenager indicted for the death of James Craig Anderson, has told a Hinds County detective he was looking for "some sort of revenge" for being robbed weeks earlier, according to the AP.

Anderson was violently attacked and then run over by a group of white teens in Jackson, MS.  Dedmon, 19, was indicted for capital murder and a hate crime on charges he intentionally ran over Anderson with his pickup truck.

Dedmon’s lawyer, Lee Agnew, says the defense has suggested it was an accident. But the AP is reporting Dedmon may have provided a different explanation to investigators:

Detective Eric Smith testified at a hearing in July that Dedmon had been robbed in the weeks before Anderson’s death and that he was looking for "some sort of revenge," though there was no evidence Anderson was responsible for the robbery.

Hinds County District Attorneys are working jointly with the Department of Justice to decide charges agaisnt the remaining suspects and whether this case is a federal hate crime.

Anderson’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit agaisnt all seven teens. Their lawsuit claims one of the teens screamed "white power" during the assault.