NAACP Mississippi Leaders Ask If Hit-And-Run Of Johnny Lee Butts Was Racially Motivated?

NAACP Mississippi Leaders Ask If Hit-And-Run Of Johnny Lee Butts Was Racially Motivated?: The Mississippi NAACP on Tuesday called on state and federal authorities to investigate whether the hit-and-run killing of a black man was racially motivated.

A white 17-year-old male has been charged with murder in the July 22 death of Johnny Lee Butts, authorities said. The 61-year-old was struck by a vehicle and killed while he was taking an early-morning walk on a rural road near his home in north Mississippi's Panola County.

District Attorney John Champion told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the case is being presented to a grand jury Wednesday in one of Panola County's two judicial districts. He said his office is investigating whether there was a racial motivation in the incident that left Butts dead at the scene.