Defence to begin church bombing trial

Lawyers for a former Ku Klux Klansman accused of murder in the 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls in Alabama said they would begin their case today by arguing that prosecutors had not proved their case.

‘‘Is that all they’ve got?’’ defence lawyer John Robbins asked.

Robbins said before he called his first witness at the trial in Birmingham he would ask Circuit Judge James Garrett to dismiss the case on the grounds that the prosecution did not offer enough evidence to convict Thomas Blanton Jr.

Prosecutors rested their case on Saturday after playing jurors an FBI recording in which Blanton said he wouldn’t be caught ‘‘when I bomb my next church’’.

The comment by Blanton was among dozens recorded more than 35 years ago by Mitchell Burns, a Klansman-turned paid FBI informant.

Robbins said the tapes were often taken out of context and did not prove Blanton had anything to do with the church bombing. Burns agreed with the defence that Blanton never explicitly claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The case has also included testimony from relatives of the dead girls, including the sister of one of the victims. She described being badly injured in the bombing.

‘‘We’re pleased with the evidence at this point and feel we laid out a case against Tommy Blanton that shows he’s guilty,’’ said US Attorney Doug Jones, who is prosecuting the state case under a special arrangement.

If Garrett rules against the dismissal motion, Robbins says he will call witnesses to attempt to show inconsistencies in the state’s case.

Blanton is charged with murdering Denise McNair, 11, and 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson on September 15 1963 at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham.

He is the second former Klansman tried in connection with the bombing. Robert ‘‘Dynamite Bob’’ Chambliss was convicted of murder in 1977 and died in prison.

Former Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry was indicted last year with Blanton, but the judge delayed his trial after his mental competency was questioned.