Marco McMillian, a black, gay mayoral candidate in the Mississippi Delta city of Clarksdale, was killed in February and buried in a simple grave at the Heavenly Rest Cemetery. His mother is on a quest to learn more about why and how her only child was killed and has asked federal authorities to step in to investigate.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
Police discovered McMillian's naked body dumped near a Mississippi River levee. His family believes he was beaten, burned and dragged before he was killed.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith refused to sign the state medical examiner's autopsy report on McMillian. He didn't agree with the severity of the injuries detailed in the report.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
McMillian's killing haunts Clarksdale. The dearth of information surrounding the case has raised suspicions in the struggling city, where train tracks once divided the black and white parts of town.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
Lawyer Bill Luckett addresses customers at his Ground Zero Blues Club in downtown Clarksdale. Luckett recently won the city's mayoral race and has vowed to look into any allegations of corruption.
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Killing haunts Mississippi town —
Paintings of blues musicians grace the window of a shop in downtown Clarksdale. The city boasts its blues history to draw tourists.
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Killing haunts Mississippi town —
The Shack Up Inn off U.S. 49 offers visitors a glimpse of life on a cotton plantation. Its rooms are housed in what the inn says are authentic sharecropper shacks.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
The New Roxy Theater, built in the 1940s, has seen better days and now teeters on the verge of collapse on Issaquena Avenue.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
A deserted storefront is not uncommon in downtown Clarksdale, a city of about 18,000 people plagued by poverty and violence.
Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN
Killing haunts Mississippi town —
At his swearing-in ceremony in early July, Bill Luckett, right, takes the helm of the city from outgoing Mayor Henry Espy, who stepped down after serving for more than 20 years. Clarksdale's new mayor says he doesn't believe the speculation about why McMillian was killed.
