The Controversial Story Of Louis Till, The Father Of Emmett Till Who Was Hanged


Louis Till was executed in Italy after a court-martial found him guilty of raping two women and murdering another while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, but it's long been debated whether he was truly guilty or unfairly targeted because of his race.

In 1945, a U.S. Army soldier named Louis Till was hanged for rape and murder while stationed in Italy. The young man had raped two Italian women and killed another during a home invasion the year prior.


Louis Till

Wikimedia Commons

Louis Till, the father of Emmett Till, during his time in the U.S. Army.


Till had a history of violence. In fact, he had only enlisted in the Army because a judge had forced him to choose between the military and prison after his wife, Mamie, accused him of beating her.


Still, Army officials sent Till’s belongings home to Mamie, including a silver ring bearing his initials, “LT.” Mamie then passed the ring on to their young son, Emmett.


Ten years later, that very same ring would be used to identify Emmett’s battered body after two men lynched him for allegedly flirting with a white woman in a Mississippi grocery store.


This is the little-known story of Louis Till, the father of Emmett Till.


The Early Life Of Emmett Till’s Father

Born in Missouri on Feb. 7, 1922, Louis Till grew up as an orphan. When he was 17, he met his future wife, Mamie Carthan. Mamie’s parents disapproved of their relationship. They believed he was “too sophisticated” for their daughter. Louis and Mamie got married anyway on Oct. 14, 1940, and their only child, Emmett Louis Till, was born nine months later.


Mamie And Emmett Till

NAACP Records/Library of Congress

Mamie and Emmett Till in the early 1950s.


Despite their happy courtship, Louis and Mamie Till’s marriage soon devolved into violence. Mamie discovered that Louis had been unfaithful and determined to leave him not long after Emmett’s birth. Angered by her decision, Louis choked her until she was unconscious.


In response, Mamie threw boiling water on him and filed for a restraining order. The judge readily granted the order, but Louis violated it time and time again.


Fed up, the judge ordered Louis to make a choice: Either enlist in the military or go to prison.


By 1943, Louis Till was a U.S. Army soldier.


Why Louis Till Was Arrested For Murder

Serving in the Army’s Transportation Corps, Louis Till was stationed in Italy in the midst of World War II. The Army was still segregated at the time, and Till was assigned to the predominantly Black 370th Infantry Regiment.


According to Let the People See: The Story of Emmett Till by Elliott J. Gorn, Till was drinking with three other men on base on June 27, 1944, when they decided to raid a nearby home where several women lived.


370th Infantry Regiment

Wikimedia Commons

The 370th Infantry Regiment on the move during World War II in Italy.


One of the men, Private Fred McMurray, later testified that Till threatened to kill him if he didn’t go along with the plan, saying, “Everybody follow me: If anybody turns back I’ll blast him.” Till then raped two women, Benni Lucretzia and Frieda Mari, who were reportedly both pregnant.


McMurray stated that after attacking Lucretzia and Mari, Till decided to knock on the door of a nearby home for wine. The woman inside, Anna Zanchi, told Till that she had none, and Till grew angry and fired at least one shot through the closed door, killing her.


A court-martial found Till and McMurray guilty of rape and murder, and both men were hanged on July 2, 1945. Louis Till was 23 years old.


Was Louis Till Guilty Or A Victim Of Racial Profiling?

Although a court-martial convicted Till of rape and murder, some skeptics have questioned if he was targeted due to his race.


In an interview with NPR, writer John Edgar Wideman stated that Till “never had a chance. It was decided long before anybody even knew their names that some black soldiers are going to take the fall for these crimes.”


It is true that the rape victims were unable to identify their assailants, as they were wearing masks at the time of the attack. The women only knew that the men were Black because they could see their hands.


In 2005, Wideman sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the Army archival center in search of documents relating to Louis Till’s trial. “Slowly but surely as I took the evidence apart and checked out dates,” Wideman said, “I found that there were very few connections, almost none, that… made it beyond any question of doubt that Till and McMurray had done these killings and rapings.”

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