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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) From the witness stand, Waylene Vaughn
described her ex-boyfriend, on trial for a 1963 church bombing, as
a hate-filled racist who talked about wanting to kill blacks.
Thomas Blanton Jr. once tried to run over a black pedestrian and
claimed to have attacked others with acid, she told a jury who
hearing the ex-Ku Klux Klansman's murder trial.
"All I want is a chance to kill one of those black bastards,"
Vaughn quoted Blanton as saying after he tried to run down a black
pedestrian with his car. The man dove out of the way, apparently
unharmed.
Blanton, 62, is on trial for the bombing of the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church, a rallying site for civil rights demonstrators. The
Sept. 15, 1963, blast killed Denise McNair, 11, and 14-year-olds
Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson.
Defense attorney John Robbins, tried to show that Vaughn, too,
was racist, which she denied. But Robbins noted that Vaughn kept
dating Blanton in spite of his racist comments, and that she
accompanied him to Klan events.
"Isn't it true you thought it was sexy to be at a Klan rally?"
Robbins asked.
"No. I liked to observe people," Vaughn replied.
Jurors heard conflicting stories Thursday about how Blanton
spent the days leading up to the bombing.
Vaughn said Blanton spent the Friday night before the Sunday
blast with her at a Birmingham motel. But retired FBI agents Frank
Spencer and Richard Hayes said Blanton did not mention Vaughn in
statements about his activities that weekend.
Spencer said Blanton talked about going to a drive-in restaurant
with another woman on Saturday night. It was unclear what he did on
Friday night, Spencer said.
"He vaguely recalled attending a meeting," Spencer said.
Barber Bill Jackson testified he saw Blanton and other Klansmen
linked to the bombing at a sign shop where segregationists often
gathered to make protest signs. But he was unsure exactly when he
saw Blanton.
Jackson recalled Blanton's comments when they attended a meeting
to discuss forming a new Ku Klux Klan unit.
"It was pretty hateful. Tommy is a hateful person. Anytime
you're around those kind of people there's always threats,"
Jackson said.
But Robbins tried to cast doubt on the testimony given by
Jackson, who had been questioned by federal agents after the
bombing.
"He admitted he lied to the FBI all through the 1960s,"
Robbins said.
Under cross examination by Robbins, Jackson said he later
cooperated with authorities in hopes of getting reward money
offered in the case.
U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, who is prosecuting the state case
under special arrangement, said he expects to wind up the state's
case by late Friday. Robbins said he believes he will finish with
defense testimony by Monday and the jury could get the case by
Tuesday.
Circuit Judge James Garrett upheld his previous ruling
permitting jurors to hear excerpts from secret FBI tapes made in
Blanton's kitchen in 1964. Jones said the tapes will be played for
jurors Friday.
Blanton is the second ex-Klansman tried in the church bombing.
Robert Chambliss was convicted in 1977 and died in prison.
Ex-Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry was supposed to stand trial with
Blanton, but Garrett delayed his case after two mental evaluations
raised questions about his competency to stand trial. A fourth
suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died without being charged.
AP-NY-04-27-01 0644EDT<
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