The Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole has denied parole to a Ku Klux Klan member serving sentence for killing four black girls in a church bombing in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 78, the only surviving Klansman convicted in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963, was denied parole Wednesday due to the opposition of victims' families.
Blanton has served 15 years of a life sentence as part of the group that planted dynamites outside the church, the Associated Press reported.
The bombing killed 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson and 11-year-old Denise McNair.
McNair's sister, Lisa McNair lauded the board's decision.
"Justice is served," she said.
Blanton is serving time at St. Clair prison and will be eligible for parole in five years, the board said. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for the bombing.
The four victims were inside the church when the blast occurred. They were killed instantly while Collins' sister Sarah Collins Rudolph was seriously injured.
Rudolph, 65, pleaded the board to deny Blanton's parole.
"We were at that church learning about love and forgiveness when someone was outside doing hateful things," she said.
During the parole hearing, those who opposed Blanton's parole occupied seats reserved for inmates' relatives.
Former U.S. attorney Doug Jones who prosecuted Blanton said the Klansman should not be granted parole since he has admitted responsiblity for the bombing and has not expressed regret.
"Whether it's racial issues, whether it's gender issues, whether it is terrorist activity similar to what Mr. Blanton perpetrated in 1963, the message is we have to stop the hate and we will punish those who kill or maim in the name of hate," said Jones.
Blanton's companions Robert Chambliss was convicted in 1977 while Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted in 2002. The two died in prison.
The FBI reopened the case and indicted Blanton and Cherry in 2000.
