Miss. NAACP wants to know if deadly hit and run was a hate crime - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Miss. NAACP wants to know if deadly hit and run was a hate crime

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Matthew Darby, 17 Matthew Darby, 17
Johnny Butts, 61, Johnny Butts, 61,
MISSISSIPPI -

(WMC-TV) - The NAACP in Mississippi is calling on State and Federal authorities to determine whether a deadly hit and run in Panola County was a hate crime.

Matthew Darby, a 17-year-old teen, who is white, is charged with the murder of Johnny Lee Butts - a black man.

The 61-year-old man was killed by a car while walking along a rural road near his home.

The Associated Press reports the case will be presented to a grand jury Wednesday.

A murder conviction could carry a life sentence in prison, but a person convicted under Mississippi's hate crimes law could get tougher penalties.

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