2006

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AlwuliUU>~ m be a judge. Marcus D. Gordon "'Jil soon begin hb 28th year as Circuit Court Judge for the Eighth Judicial Distr ict, which includes Newton, Neshoba. Scott and Leake counties. Judge Gordon, a former district attorney. is being honored for his almost 50 years of service in the legal profession by the East Central Community College Alumni Association, which tapped the Union native as Alumnus of the Yc·ar for 2006. Gordon will officiallv receive the 3\\ ard at the Alum~• Luncheon ~heduled at noon Saturda\, October - . m ~bbr~ Memon;l Cafetma a pan of the Colle;e' Homecommg celebration on the Decatur campus In expre~~mg hh appreciation for the a\\ ard. Judge Gordon replied . '"It's an exceptional honor that the committee would recognize me and it's a prestigious position. The recogniti~n is something that I will always chertsh." Judge Gordon. who once considered a career as an engineer but had second thoughts when he struggled with math in school, said he chose the legal profession when he real ized his God-given ability. " I've been blessed with the ability to talk and I knew that talent would be what a lawyer must possess. so I went into law," Gordon said durmg a recent intervie-..v in his office at the Newton County Courthouse in Decatur. Judge Gordon is also re cogn i7ed fo r the p rofessiOnal manner in "hich he conducts his court. His expertise was e:;pecially tested during the murder trial ofEdgar Ray K11len. a reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan. who on June 21. 2005,

James Chaney, M1chacl Sch\\emer and Andre\\ Goodman. who were subjects of the 1988 film, ''Miss1:;s1pp1 Burning." Judge Gordon later sentenced Killen to the maximum allowed by law for manslaughter 20 years for each of the three livcl> lost 41 years earlier near Philadelphia. Judge Gordon received praise from the national media and public for his handling of the high– profile case held at the Ne~hoba County Courthou-.e in Pl11l.tdelphia. which brought occolnde:- not only to him but to the tote of M•ssi:.... ippi. A:. on of Judge Gordon·.., nommator:. for Alumnu~ of Year \\rote, ··tn the .. ours ofthat one week la:-.t June (2005), I behe\ c that the nation\ opinion of the judiciary and Ia"• enforcement in Philadelphia and ~eshoba County changed dmmaucally from that sour image cast in 1964 to one in which the team eOort of the Circuit Court of the Eighth Judic1al Oistnct, the office of the District Attorney and officers of the Philadelphia Police Department and the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office saw final justice done for the murders of 1964. Without doubt, that one moment in h1story played such an immensely important and pivotal role in the history of the civil rights movement 111 America and for racial reconc1liat1on 10 Miss1ssippi." Judge Gordon :;aJd h1s biggest challenge in presiding over the Killen case involved the media. ''The case Jtsclfwas not that d1fficult," he said. "The challenge with that case wa-; not the med1a (per se) but the mass med1a and ho\\ to reg1ment them and keep them under control.'' More than 150