Has justice been served?

The Birmingham (Ala.) News: When an Alabama state trooper shot and killed Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion in 1965, he had no way of predicting the momentous consequences to follow.

Jackson’s death triggered demonstrations that led to the “Bloody Sunday” confrontation on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The sight of troopers and sheriff’s deputies attacking peaceful marchers horrified the nation and helped secure the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The new federal law ensured blacks would become full participants in the democratic process, giving them, at last, power to influence and win elections.

In a very real sense, Jackson’s death changed the course of history. But as progress came, and as Jackson took his place alongside other civil rights martyrs, some crucial business went untended.

Not until 2007 was the trooper, James Fowler, called to account, legally, for shooting Jackson. More than 40 years after the fact, Fowler was indicted on murder charges. Nov. 15, the 77-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in a deal that included an apology to Jackson’s family and a six-month jail term.

Does the outcome represent justice? It’s hard to say.

The problem is trying, now, to make that determination. It might have been one thing for a jury to sort out the truth in 1965. It is quite another to try 45 years later, after witnesses have died, memories have blurred and evidence has been lost forever.

So, all things considered, the plea deal with Fowler may be the best resolution possible.