2010
August 24.
The New York Times highlights the work of Stanley Nelson, summer mentor to Tori Stilwell ‘12
While interning at the Concordia Sentinel this summer, Tori Stilwell ’12 worked alongside veteran editor Stanley Nelson on a high-profile investigation of Civil Rights-era killings in rural Louisiana.
“I feel so lucky to have been able to work with Stanley,” Tori wrote in her final biweekly report of the summer. “It’s hard even to put into words how much I’ve gotten out of this summer.”
From developing background research to conducting witness interviews, Tori was on the front lines of a cold case investigation that is attracting national attention. Today’s New York Times features an in-depth look at the challenges of cold-case reporting, specifically highlighting the work of Stanley Nelson and the Sentinel.
“Stanley Nelson, the editor of The Concordia Sentinel, a weekly in Ferriday, La., has been producing articles on a cluster of killings in that area that were connected to the Silver Dollar Group, a Klan organization that terrorized the area with impunity in the 1960s. He has worked with the Syracuse University College of Law’s Cold Case Justice Initiative, where students have gone through thousands of F.B.I. documents, even finding files on a missing black hotel porter, Joseph Edwards, that a federal prosecutor had said the bureau did not have.”
As a result of her standout work during the summer, Tori has been asked to continue helping with the investigation during the academic year.
“Stanley said he wants me to continue to be a part of the project even while I’m at school, which I couldn’t be more thrilled about,” Tori wrote. “I’m glad this internship doesn’t really have to end.”
