Reputed Klansman's conviction overturned in 1964 deaths

tauringhuang.

(CN*) -- A federal appeals court overturned the kidnapping conviction of a reputed Klansman in connection with the 1964 deaths of two black teenagers in Mississippi.

A three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court Appeals sided with James Ford Seale's claim that he should have never been tried for the disappearances of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee because the statute of limitations on the alleged offenses had expired.

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Seale was convicted by a federal jury in June 2007 of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the abductions of the teens, who were both 19. Charges were filed against him in January 2007.

Seale was 71 when convicted. In his appeal, he claimed he should never have been prosecuted because a 1972 amendment to federal kidnapping laws established a five-year statute of limitations. The appeals court agreed, overturning Seale's conviction and acquitting him.

Seale was arrested in 1964 along with Charles Edwards, who has since died, but the two were released on bail and never tried