344. Targeted: The Killing of James Craig Anderson
Wed Feb 04 2026
For much of the twentieth century, Mississippi was a place where racial violence was not merely ignored but actively erased. Witnesses stayed silent. Juries looked away. It was just a different time, they say.
James Craig Anderson’s murder did not happen in 1955. It happened in 2011.
This time, the cameras were watching. This time, the federal government stepped in. This time, the perpetrators pleaded guilty. Progress would be measured not in apologies or promises, but in prison sentences.
And unlike so many before him, Anderson’s killers were not celebrated, excused, or folded gently into historical amnesia. They were named. They were tried. They were sentenced. Dragged into the light, they could not escape what they had done.
Join Cam and Jen on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled ‘Targeted: The Killing of James Craig Anderson.’
Listener Discretion by @octoberpodVHS
Music by @theinkypawprint
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcYtzZS5kE
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23jackson.html?hp
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/17/hate-crime-indictment-tells-details-five-attacks-one-fatal/12793527/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-of-alleged-miss-hate-killing-victim-doesnt-want-death-penalty/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW8dRJ3SNh0
https://www.law.virginia.edu/static/uvalawyer/html/alumni/uvalawyer/spr15/reeves.htm
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ten-sentenced-in-hate-crime-case
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/01/four-white-men-ordered-to-pay-840000-for-jim-crow-style-lynching-of-mississippi-black-man/
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/12/385777366/a-black-mississippi-judges-breathtaking-speech-to-three-white-murderers
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/10/james-craig-anderson-case/25563641/
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/10/deryl-dedmon-two-others-to-be-sentenced-in-hate-crime-tuesday/23166397/
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/restitution-ordered-jackson-mississippi-hate-crime-case-involving-death-james-craig-anderson
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For much of the twentieth century, Mississippi was a place where racial violence was not merely ignored but actively erased. Witnesses stayed silent. Juries looked away. It was just a different time, they say. James Craig Anderson’s murder did not happen in 1955. It happened in 2011. This time, the cameras were watching. This time, the federal government stepped in. This time, the perpetrators pleaded guilty. Progress would be measured not in apologies or promises, but in prison sentences. And unlike so many before him, Anderson’s killers were not celebrated, excused, or folded gently into historical amnesia. They were named. They were tried. They were sentenced. Dragged into the light, they could not escape what they had done. Join Cam and Jen on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled ‘Targeted: The Killing of James Craig Anderson.’ Listener Discretion by @octoberpodVHS Music by @theinkypawprint Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcYtzZS5kE https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23jackson.html?hp http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/17/hate-crime-indictment-tells-details-five-attacks-one-fatal/12793527/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-of-alleged-miss-hate-killing-victim-doesnt-want-death-penalty/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW8dRJ3SNh0 https://www.law.virginia.edu/static/uvalawyer/html/alumni/uvalawyer/spr15/reeves.htm https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ten-sentenced-in-hate-crime-case https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/01/four-white-men-ordered-to-pay-840000-for-jim-crow-style-lynching-of-mississippi-black-man/ https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/12/385777366/a-black-mississippi-judges-breathtaking-speech-to-three-white-murderers https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/10/james-craig-anderson-case/25563641/ https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/10/deryl-dedmon-two-others-to-be-sentenced-in-hate-crime-tuesday/23166397/ https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/restitution-ordered-jackson-mississippi-hate-crime-case-involving-death-james-craig-anderson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices