NATION : Beckwith Extradition Blocked

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A state appeals court today blocked the extradition of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith to Mississippi for a third trial for the 1963 slaying of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

The Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals said Beckwith could remain in Tennessee while he fights extradition to face a first-degree murder charge.

But the court denied bail for the 70-year-old Signal Mountain man, who has been jailed in Chattanooga since his arrest Dec. 31 on a governor’s warrant.

After his arrest, Beckwith filed a writ of habeas corpus , but Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Joe DiRisio ruled Jan. 15 that the defendant should be returned to Mississippi.