'Mississippi Burning' judge dies
Retired Circuit Judge Marcus D. Gordon, who oversaw the 2005 murder trial of Edgar Ray Killen in the FBI’s “Mississippi Burning” case, died Thursday.
Services for Marcus D. Gordon will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church of Union with burial in the Union City Cemetery.
He retired in March from the Eighth District Circuit Court of Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott counties because of his health. He said then that neuropathy had impaired his ability to walk.
“I thank the people who let me have this office and stay in this office as long as I have,” Gordon said. “They gave me their trust, and I am confident that in no fashion did I ever let that trust be violated.”
A month after retiring, Gordon fell and broke his hip while at his second home in northern Arkansas. He died at 5:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson.
At the time of his resignation, Gordon, 84, of Union was the longest-serving trial judge in Mississippi. He served as circuit judge for more than 36 years.
Gordon submitted his resignation on the anniversary of his appointment to the bench.
RELATED: Judge Gordon retires from bench
On March 4, 1977, Gov. Cliff Finch appointed Gordon as circuit judge of the Eighth Circuit District after Judge O.H. Barnett resigned.
Gordon left the bench and returned to private law practice for about three years in the late 1980s, practicing law with his nephew.
He previously served as district attorney for 6½ years in the Eighth Circuit District. He was county prosecutor for Newton County for four years.
Gordon was admitted to the bar in 1959. As a lawyer in private practice, he represented the Newton County Board of Supervisors as well as municipalities, school boards and hospitals.
He attended East Central Junior College in Decatur, now East Central Community College. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.
He served four years in the Air Force as an airplane mechanic assigned to the Strategic Air Command.
In 2005, Gordon presided over the trial of Killen, accused of orchestrating the killings of three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, on June 21, 1964, in Neshoba County.
RELATED: President awards freedom medals to slain trio
The judge had crossed Killen's path in the past. Killen spoke at the funerals of Gordon's parents, and Gordon, as a district attorney in 1976, had prosecuted Killen for a threatening phone call.
In 2005, Gordon drew praise for his handling of the Killen trial, which aired live on Court TV and has since played on C-SPAN.
In a compromise verdict, a jury convicted Killen on three counts of manslaughter, and Gordon sentenced him to the maximum 60 years in prison. Killen is now serving that time in the State Penitentiary at Parchman.
RELATED: Killen stays silent about 1964 killings
Gordon drew criticism in October when, in an interview with Fault Lines, he said, “People charged with crimes, they are criminals.”
William L. Waller Jr., chief justice for the state Supreme Court, praised Gordon.
“He will be missed by all,” Waller said. “He courageously presided over many very difficult cases, including the prosecution of Edgar Ray Killen.”
Neshoba County Circuit Clerk Patti Duncan Lee called Gordon “one of a kind,” running a firm but fair courtroom.
“By his presence, he commanded respect. He treated everybody the same,” she said. “If he thought you needed to do something different, he sure didn’t mind telling you so.”
Contact Jerry Mitchell at jmitchell@jackson.gannett.com or (601) 961-7064. Follow @jmitchellnews on Twitter.