Chronology
The Kent State Shootings: A Chronology
This chronology of the Kent State killings appears in William A. Gordon's book, Four Dead in Ohio: Was There a Conspiracy at Kent State? For permission to reprint the chronology, e-mail NRBooks@aol.com or write to North Ridge Books, P.O. Box 2832, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.
This chronology of the Kent State killings appears in William A. Gordon's book, Four Dead in Ohio: Was There a Conspiracy at Kent State? For permission to reprint the chronology, e-mail NRBooks@aol.com or write to North Ridge Books, P.O. Box 2832, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.
1970
April 30 President Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia, triggering massive protests on many of the nation's campuses.
May 2 Ohio National Guardsmen are sent to Kent State after the University's Army R.O.T.C. building is burned down.
May 3 Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes personally appears on campus and promises to use "every force possible" to maintain order. Rhodes denounces the protesters as worse than brownshirts and vows to keep the Guard in Kent "until we get rid of them."
May 4 Four students are killed and nine others are wounded when a contingent of Guardsmen suddenly opens fire during a noontime demonstration.
July 23 Key portions of a secret Justice Department memo are disclosed by the Akron Beacon Journal. The memorandum describes the shootings as unnecessary and urges the Portage County Prosecutor to file criminal charges against six Guardsmen.
July 31 Attorney General John Mitchell says that both students and Guardsmen apparently violated federal laws and hints that a federal grand jury may be convened "if Ohio authorities do not act."
August 3 After consulting with top Guard officials, Governor Rhodes orders that a "special" state grand jury be empaneled.
October 4 The President's Commission on Campus Unrest concludes: "The actions of some students were violent and criminal and some others were dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible." The shootings are branded as "unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."
October 16 The "special" state grand jury exonerates the Guardsmen, but indicts 25 individuals, mostly students, for a variety of offenses that occurred on campus before the shootings.
Late October-November Demands for a federal grand jury mount after it is revealed that the "special" state grand jury ignored key evidence and that one of the "special" prosecutors told a newsman he felt the Guardsmen should have shot more students.
November 30 Assistant Attorney General Jerris Leonard confirms that the Justice Department is reviewing the evidence to determine if a federal grand jury should be convened. Leonard promises a decision before the year is over.
May 2 Ohio National Guardsmen are sent to Kent State after the University's Army R.O.T.C. building is burned down.
May 3 Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes personally appears on campus and promises to use "every force possible" to maintain order. Rhodes denounces the protesters as worse than brownshirts and vows to keep the Guard in Kent "until we get rid of them."
May 4 Four students are killed and nine others are wounded when a contingent of Guardsmen suddenly opens fire during a noontime demonstration.
July 23 Key portions of a secret Justice Department memo are disclosed by the Akron Beacon Journal. The memorandum describes the shootings as unnecessary and urges the Portage County Prosecutor to file criminal charges against six Guardsmen.
July 31 Attorney General John Mitchell says that both students and Guardsmen apparently violated federal laws and hints that a federal grand jury may be convened "if Ohio authorities do not act."
August 3 After consulting with top Guard officials, Governor Rhodes orders that a "special" state grand jury be empaneled.
October 4 The President's Commission on Campus Unrest concludes: "The actions of some students were violent and criminal and some others were dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible." The shootings are branded as "unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."
October 16 The "special" state grand jury exonerates the Guardsmen, but indicts 25 individuals, mostly students, for a variety of offenses that occurred on campus before the shootings.
Late October-November Demands for a federal grand jury mount after it is revealed that the "special" state grand jury ignored key evidence and that one of the "special" prosecutors told a newsman he felt the Guardsmen should have shot more students.
November 30 Assistant Attorney General Jerris Leonard confirms that the Justice Department is reviewing the evidence to determine if a federal grand jury should be convened. Leonard promises a decision before the year is over.
1971
January 28 A federal judge upholds the state's indictments of the students, but orders the state grand jury's report to be expunged from the record and physically destroyed due to its bias.
April 30 The first major book on the shootings, Kent State: What Happened and Why, by James Michener, is released. Michener says he was unable to uncover proof that there was a conspiracy to fire. However, Michener writes: "It seems likely that some kind of a rough verbal agreement had been reached among the troops" to fire.
June 22 A conspiracy report written by Peter Davies is submitted to the Justice Department. Davies alleges that there definitely was a conspiracy and that a sergeant, Myron Pryor, started it all by firing a pistol as a signal.
August 13 Attorney General John Mitchell closes the case, dismissing the conspiracy allegations as not credible and claiming "there is no likelihood of successful prosecutions of individual Guardsmen."
October 20 A 10,000-signature petition urging President Nixon to overrule the decision is submitted to presidential aide Leonard Garment at the White House.
December 8 The "special" state grand jury is even further discredited when Ohio officials dismiss charges against 20 of the 25 individuals indicted by the grand jury. Ohio prosecutors claimed they had insufficient evidence to convict any protesters.
April 30 The first major book on the shootings, Kent State: What Happened and Why, by James Michener, is released. Michener says he was unable to uncover proof that there was a conspiracy to fire. However, Michener writes: "It seems likely that some kind of a rough verbal agreement had been reached among the troops" to fire.
June 22 A conspiracy report written by Peter Davies is submitted to the Justice Department. Davies alleges that there definitely was a conspiracy and that a sergeant, Myron Pryor, started it all by firing a pistol as a signal.
August 13 Attorney General John Mitchell closes the case, dismissing the conspiracy allegations as not credible and claiming "there is no likelihood of successful prosecutions of individual Guardsmen."
October 20 A 10,000-signature petition urging President Nixon to overrule the decision is submitted to presidential aide Leonard Garment at the White House.
December 8 The "special" state grand jury is even further discredited when Ohio officials dismiss charges against 20 of the 25 individuals indicted by the grand jury. Ohio prosecutors claimed they had insufficient evidence to convict any protesters.
1972
May 4 The second anniversary of the shootings passes without any response to the petition.
July 6 In a letter to the parents of the slain students, Garment says that the new attorney general, Richard Kleindienst, will not reverse Mitchell's no grand jury decision.
October 12 The parents of the slain students file suit in U.S. District Court in Washington. They ask for a court order compelling the Justice Department to conduct the grand jury investigation.
July 6 In a letter to the parents of the slain students, Garment says that the new attorney general, Richard Kleindienst, will not reverse Mitchell's no grand jury decision.
October 12 The parents of the slain students file suit in U.S. District Court in Washington. They ask for a court order compelling the Justice Department to conduct the grand jury investigation.
1973
April 30 The spreading Watergate scandal shakes up the Nixon administration. Elliot Richardson becomes Nixon's third attorney general and Garment is elevated to the position of Nixon's counsel.
May 1 The parents of the slain students renew their grand jury demands. The students at Kent announce they will resubmit the petition.
May 10 In a meeting with the student petitioners, K. William O'Connor, a high-level Justice Department official, admits that the Justice Department already has sufficient evidence to prosecute six Guardsmen.
May 25 In an apparent attempt to pre-empt a reversal of the no-investigation policy by incoming attorney general Elliot Richardson, the White House closes the case a third time.
June 13 Richardson reopens the case anyway, by announcing the Department is reviewing the Kent State file.
June 15 The Akron Beacon Journal confirms reports that a House Judiciary subcommittee is quietly investigating the Justice Department's handling of the Kent State investigation.
August 3 Assistant Attorney General J. Stanley Pottinger announces that the Justice Department will officially conduct a new inquiry. Senator Birch Bayh follows Pottinger's announcement by releasing a letter he received from one of the Guard's company commanders. On the basis of that letter Bayh charges that armed FBI informant Terry Norman may have been "the fatal catalyst" for the tragedy.
October 20-November 1 Richardson resigns during the Saturday Night Massacre. Nixon nominates Ohio Senator William B. Saxbe, a former colonel in the Ohio National Guard, to be his fourth attorney general. Saxbe promises to terminate the new investigation if his nomination is approved by the Senate.
November 1-7 The parents of the slain students, the student petitioners, and others demand that Saxbe disqualify himself because of several conflicts of interest.
December 11 In an unusual 8:30 announcement on the eve of Saxbe's confirmation hearings, Pottinger announces that a federal grand jury will be empaneled in Cleveland.
December 12 Saxbe cryptically promises to keep his hands off the investigation "if they have, as a result of this grand jury, further proceedings."
May 1 The parents of the slain students renew their grand jury demands. The students at Kent announce they will resubmit the petition.
May 10 In a meeting with the student petitioners, K. William O'Connor, a high-level Justice Department official, admits that the Justice Department already has sufficient evidence to prosecute six Guardsmen.
May 25 In an apparent attempt to pre-empt a reversal of the no-investigation policy by incoming attorney general Elliot Richardson, the White House closes the case a third time.
June 13 Richardson reopens the case anyway, by announcing the Department is reviewing the Kent State file.
June 15 The Akron Beacon Journal confirms reports that a House Judiciary subcommittee is quietly investigating the Justice Department's handling of the Kent State investigation.
August 3 Assistant Attorney General J. Stanley Pottinger announces that the Justice Department will officially conduct a new inquiry. Senator Birch Bayh follows Pottinger's announcement by releasing a letter he received from one of the Guard's company commanders. On the basis of that letter Bayh charges that armed FBI informant Terry Norman may have been "the fatal catalyst" for the tragedy.
October 20-November 1 Richardson resigns during the Saturday Night Massacre. Nixon nominates Ohio Senator William B. Saxbe, a former colonel in the Ohio National Guard, to be his fourth attorney general. Saxbe promises to terminate the new investigation if his nomination is approved by the Senate.
November 1-7 The parents of the slain students, the student petitioners, and others demand that Saxbe disqualify himself because of several conflicts of interest.
December 11 In an unusual 8:30 announcement on the eve of Saxbe's confirmation hearings, Pottinger announces that a federal grand jury will be empaneled in Cleveland.
December 12 Saxbe cryptically promises to keep his hands off the investigation "if they have, as a result of this grand jury, further proceedings."
1974
February 8 Word leaks out from the grand jury that at least seven Guardsmen invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination and refused to testify.
March 28 The federal grand jury indicts eight Guardsmen on charges they deprived the students of their rights to due process. No conspiracy is alleged, and no indictment is returned against Terry Norman or any Guard officers.
April 17 The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a series of lower court decisions dismissing civil damage suits filed by the parents of the dead students and the nine surviving victims. The ruling paves the way for a civil trial to be held after the criminal proceedings.
October 7-17 Attorneys for James A. Rhodes unsuccessfully try to block the release of Rhodes's deposition in the civil case until after the Ohio gubernatorial election. The deposition reveals that Rhodes's attorney, in a move reminiscent of the Watergate cover-up, offered into evidence an incomplete transcript of Rhodes's May 3, 1970, press conference. Among the remarks deleted was a comment by an official that the Guard would resort to shooting if necessary.
October 29 Opening statements are delivered in the prosecution of the eight Guardsmen.
November 5 Rhodes is elected governor of Ohio again.
November 8 Federal Judge Frank Battisti dismisses the criminal charges against the Guardsmen, ruling that the prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Battisti suggests the Guardsmen should have been tried instead by state officials.
March 28 The federal grand jury indicts eight Guardsmen on charges they deprived the students of their rights to due process. No conspiracy is alleged, and no indictment is returned against Terry Norman or any Guard officers.
April 17 The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a series of lower court decisions dismissing civil damage suits filed by the parents of the dead students and the nine surviving victims. The ruling paves the way for a civil trial to be held after the criminal proceedings.
October 7-17 Attorneys for James A. Rhodes unsuccessfully try to block the release of Rhodes's deposition in the civil case until after the Ohio gubernatorial election. The deposition reveals that Rhodes's attorney, in a move reminiscent of the Watergate cover-up, offered into evidence an incomplete transcript of Rhodes's May 3, 1970, press conference. Among the remarks deleted was a comment by an official that the Guard would resort to shooting if necessary.
October 29 Opening statements are delivered in the prosecution of the eight Guardsmen.
November 5 Rhodes is elected governor of Ohio again.
November 8 Federal Judge Frank Battisti dismisses the criminal charges against the Guardsmen, ruling that the prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Battisti suggests the Guardsmen should have been tried instead by state officials.
1975
May 28 A three-month-long wrongful death and injury trial begins. It provides the first opportunity to consider the evidence, five years after the killings.
August 27 After hearing highly conflicting testimony--and after considerable controversy over rulings excluding and including certain evidence--the jury decides not to award damages to the parents of those killed and the nine surviving students.
August 27 After hearing highly conflicting testimony--and after considerable controversy over rulings excluding and including certain evidence--the jury decides not to award damages to the parents of those killed and the nine surviving students.
1977
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July 29 Ignoring pleas from the families of the victims and current KSU students who set up a makeshift Tent City on the practice football field, Kent State proceeds with the construction of a gymnasium annex over a large part of the site of the May 4 confrontation. 192 protesters are removed from the site and arrested. Subsequent protests are similarly unsuccessful.
September 12 The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturns the decision of the 1975 civil jury on the ground that Judge Donald Young mishandled an incident involving jury tampering. |
Click image for larger view
"An aerial view of the shooting scene as it originally appeared in 1970. The white diagram superimposed on it shows where the university built a gym annex was built over part of the site."
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1978
December 9 The second civil trial begins amid rumors that there might be a compromise out-of-court settlement.
1979
January 4 The victims settle out of court. The state of Ohio awards them a total of $675,000, to be split 13 ways, and the defendants sign a "statement of regret." Some victims claim the statement is an apology, but the defendants and their attorneys dispute that.
1982
October 4 The major litigation officially ends with a Supreme Court decision paving the way for the release of court documents sealed seven years earlier at the request of KSU and Ohio officials.
1990
May 4 KSU dedicates a memorial to "the events of May 4" (not the victims). At the dedication ceremonies, Ohio Governor Richard Celeste apologizes to the families of the four slain students and the nine surviving victims.