Emmett Till's casket

( Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak / July 10, 2009 )

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Emmett Till’s cousin Simeon Wright talk about Till’s original casket that sits in disrepair in a structure on the grounds of Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill. where four cemetery employees have been accused of digging up graves, disposing of bodies and reselling plots.

The first thing Wright told Sheriff Tom Dart, who accompanied him to see the casket, was he wants it moved. "Hopefully we'll find someone to do what they were supposed to: preserve it." The cemetery had assured the family that the casket would be preserved after Till was exhumed in 2005. Till was reburied in a new casket.

On learning of the dilapidated condition of the casket, Wright said, "I'm disgusted. This is the lowest you can go. It shows how far greed will take you."