Kent State Victims Request New Inquiry, Present New Evidence

42 years ago a group of National Guard members opened fire on a Kent State University student protest and survivors of the shooting are still seeking answers, demanding that a new investigation into the shooting be opened and more closely examined that previous inquiries.

Seven wounded members from that horrific day have started a new campaign to convince lawmakers that hearings should be opened in order to examine new evidence, specifically a re-analysis of a recording that they believe proves the Guardsmen were ordered to fire.

Speaking to the Cleveland Plain Dealer the outreach has been called by the group as their “final campaign for truth and justice.”

The tape in question is said to contain .38-caliber shots that are heard directly after the fire command is given to the guardsmen. The FBI in the meantime disagrees with the assessment of the tape, claiming that voices were unintelligible and the shots could easily have been the sound of various doors shutting.

The US Justice Department last month said they would not re-open the case because of “insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers.”

In the meantime victims from the Kent State shooting claim they do not want to see individual guardsmen prosecuted but instead want them to join in their search for answers, noting:

“In a way, they’ve been victimized just as we have.”

While the Justice Department continues to back further away from the 42 year old case, victims of that day continue to speak in the hopes of raising awareness and finally getting the answers they seek.