Body of African-American man found hanging from tree in Port Gibson , Mississippi , Thursday morning . The NAACP has identified the man as 54-year-old Otis James Byrd , who has been missing since March 2 . Authorities have not officially identified the victim and say they are not sure yet whether death was a homicide or suicide . The last time Byrd was seen , a friend was dropping him off at a casino in Vicksburg , Mississippi - about 30 miles north . Death has similarities to a lynching . He spent 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trim , a white woman who he shot 12 times during an armed robbery .
Body of African-American man found hanging from tree in Port Gibson , Mississippi , Thursday morning . The NAACP has identified the man as 54-year-old Otis James Byrd , who has been missing since March 2 . Authorities have not officially identified the victim and say they are not sure yet whether death was a homicide or suicide . The last time Byrd was seen , a friend was dropping him off at a casino in Vicksburg , Mississippi - about 30 miles north . Death has similarities to a lynching . He spent 25 years in prison for the murder of Lucille Trim , a white woman who he shot four times during an armed robbery .