Jack Brooks Lacy Jr. | Rights-era prosecutor, 69

After his federal work, Mr. Lacy became assistant state attorney general for the Mississippi Band of Choctaws.

"Jack had an undying commitment to doing what was right as a public servant," John Dowdy, criminal division chief for the U.S. Attorney's Office told WAPT-TV.

"His passion over the years became serving for the betterment of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians," Dowdy told the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss.

Mr. Lacy's first job was as a disc jockey after he ran out of money to attend the University of Mississippi, from which he graduated in 1968 with a degree in English literature. He taught there for 14 years before finishing law school at age 40.

In 2003, Mr. Lacy said the only reason federal prosecutors were able to bring the White case back to court was that the killing was found to have taken place on federal land. "It's one of those incredible accidents of history," he said.

A state jury had acquitted Avants of murder in 1967.

Prosecutors said Avants and two companions offered White $2 and a soda to help them find a dog lost in the woods. White, who had no connection with the civil rights movement, was driven to a national forest, shot to death, and dumped into a creek bed. - AP