Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. (June 20, 1938 – June 26, 2020) was an American terrorist and convicted felon, formerly serving four life sentences for his role as conspirator in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963, which killed four African American girls (Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, and Denise McNair).

[1] Blanton, along with Bobby Frank Cherry, was convicted in May 2001[2] in a highly publicized trial of the cold case.

[3] Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry.

[6] At the time of his arrest, Blanton was working at a Walmart store and he was living in a trailer with no running water.

[8] On June 26, 2020, Blanton died at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 19 years of incarceration, from unspecified causes while serving his life sentence, six days after his 82nd birthday.