Mississippi Senator Apologizes To Those Offended by Her 'Public Hanging' Statement

It’s too little, too late, but after initially refusing to apologize, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) claimed she meant no “ill will” when she said she would attend a “public hanging” if invited. “You know, for anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statements,” the GOP senator said. “I have worked with all Mississippians. It didn’t matter their skin color type, their age or their income. That’s my record.” According to the Associated Press, the Mississippi senator still defending herself, though, claiming that those slamming her “twisted” her words to use as a “political weapon.” Taking into mind the United States’ history with “public hangings” (better known as lynchings), especially in Mississippi, it was a violent remark for any person to make, let alone a white woman running (again) for public office in the Magnolia State. Hyde-Smith is currently facing Democrat Mike Espy in a runoff. Espy is vying to become the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction. Espy was one of the critics of Hyde-Smith’s remarks, claiming that her words were not twisted and that her statement gave the state a “black eye” it doesn’t need.