Gerald Weissinger Chatham (February 17, 1906 – October 9, 1956) was an American lawyer, best known for acting as lead prosecutor in the Emmett Till case in 1955.
Chatham's family claims that the pressures of the trial harmed his health and ultimately led to a fatal heart attack a year after its completion.
Chatham was aided by Robert B. Smith III and James Hamilton Caldwell Jr. during the trial, which started on September 19, 1955.
He understood the national attention that the case was attracting, but said that he was "not concerned with the pressure and agitation which the trial ... produced, either within or outside the state of Mississippi".
[2] Chatham arduously implored the 12 members of the all-white jury to look past prejudice to bring justice to the crime.