this is al jazeera america. i am lori jane gliha in new york. randle pinkston is on assignment. here a look at today's top stories think president obama plan to nominate a replacement for the late justice scalia unleashes a barrage of attacks from republican presidential candidates. >> this is critical to promoting security, prosperity and human dignity around the world. >> continuing his pivot to asia, president obama prepares to welcome asian leaders to the united states.

a look at the economic and security issues they'll discuss in tonight's the week ahead. plus he helps solve some of the most heinous crimes of the civil rights era. we are headed to mississippi to meet journalist jerry mitchell. and it's london's version of oscar night. the british academy film awards honors hollywood's best. ♪ ♪ the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia could set up a political battle for the ages. a day after the 79-year-old was found debt of an apparent heart attack at a texas ranch, filling his shoes has become the topic of discussion on capitol hill. senior white house correspondent mike viqueira joins us live from washington, d.c. and, mike, this quickly became a hot topic for the presidential candidates. >> reporter: you are absolutely right, lori jane, it's only

about about 24 hours since this news brock. this shocking news that took america by surprise, certainly took the white house and congress by surprise the death of justin antonin scalia after being on the bench since nineteens 86, appointed by ronald reagan it's just a mesh of the hot bunt cultural issues among the cultural war these battles that have been fought for decades now that are handled by the supreme court that has already become such a volatile issue. just consider the docket for the rebalance of this supreme court term. cases involving affirmative action. involving abortion. involving president obama's executive actions on immigration. and whether or not they are going to be legal. these are vital issues not only to americans in general, but in an election year to the base of both parties, both conservatives, and liberals we are talking about voters, donors, the type of grassroots advocates who go door to door and get out the vote. republicans right now shortly

after this news broke have been insisting ever since that president obama withhold the nomination and not some -- send a nomination to the senate. they think the next president, who, of course, they hope will be a republican, will have the privilege of doing that. marco rubio is a senator and republican presidential candidate, here is what he had to say. >> he can nominate someone. the senate is not moving forward on it until after the election. senator mcconnell the majority leader has made it clear and i agree with this. it remains to be seen whether or not the senator ma coming will move a nomination. what is clear, is that president obama is going to make that nomination, it's not going to be happening this week or this -- in the next comes days, lori jane, president obama as you mentioned in california preparing for that southeast asian summit. the senate is also on recess for the president's day week this week, but you can expect shortly thereafter, president obama will be mulling his options in the meantime.

and shortly thereafter a nomination is going to be come from the nomination from the white house to the senate. >> and hour the democrats respond to go scalia's death and when to replace him? >> reporter: well, they are matching the insistence that the republicans have that president obama not nominate someone during the remainder of his term saying this is the president's constitutional responsibility. and, in fact, the president appearing on television briefly last night from california said the exact same thing. this is an issue that is vital their base as well. and so president obama essentially has a choice, not name a moderate and try to get them -- get enough republican to his vote with this nomination and confirm whoever it is that president obama were to choose, or nominate someone to the left of the political spectrum and pick a political fight and motivate december krafbg great roots, bernie sanders of course the democratic social i was from vermont is running for president and here is his view. >> it is beyond by comprehension and it just speaks to the

unbelievable level and unprecedented level of republican obstructionism against obama from day one. >> reporter: now, there is precedent, of course, and many democrats this came up in a republican debate from south carolina last night, president reagan, in late 1987, nominated anthony kennedy to the supreme court heading in to an election, it wasn't confirmed until an election year until 1988 as a matter of fact. republicans say it doesn't matter. this is a precedent that they believe goes back some 80 years, although that's very much in dispute, lori jane. >> mike, how long do you think they can stall a nomination? >> reporter: general nominations only take two or three months to go through. you know, obviously they become more and more contentious, i think it's instructive to note that antonin scalia in 1996 was unanimously confirmed by a republican-controlled senate. but still every democrat in the senate vote ahead long with that. that was pretty mitch the end of

the bipartisan agreement allowing a president to have their own nominations and their own confirmations after that came robert bourque, we know how that went and perhaps the most contentious nomination fight of all, clarence thomas in the bush 41 administration who was ultimately confirmed. so it generally takes a couple of months. i think this time all the rules are going to be rewritten, lower irrelevant jane. >> all right, thanks for joining us, mike viqueira from washington, d.c. joining us now via skype is jeffrey stone a law professor at the university of chicago who once work with and was friends with justice scalia. jeffrey, thank you for joining us, we just heard mike viqueira speak about the politics surrounding justice scalia's death. you knew him personally. what was he like behind the scenes? >> he was very bright and lively and funny. a very engaging person, liked to argue. but actually, in his interpersonal relationships with people, he could have strong disagreements and still have

real friendships. so if you think about the people on the supreme court who had been closest to justice scalia, ruth bader begins berg and elena are individuals who disagree with him all the time, but nonetheless in ginsburg's case, she and scalia were opera buddies in kegins case they were hunting buddies. i knew justice scalia when he was my colleague at the university of chicago law school i am basically an aclu warring court type and yet scalia and i were good friends and enjoy one another's company. >> i wanted to ask you about that. what is interesting to me is how much respect he had from so many people who absolutely disagreed with many of his opinions. and you were one of those people. you called him tough, brilliant, and kind in one of the piece thaws recently wrote. and though you butted heads, why was it that you were able to get along so well? >> i think scalia did not take disagreement personally.

and he understood that a particular position and he argued it with great enthusiasm. but he did not expect everyone to just agree with him. at least in the context of interpersonal relationships. i think as a justice, he tended to be far more intemperate and in public speaking he tended to be far more intemperate. but in private individual friendships he was terrific in that regard. >> you actually had a falling out with the justice at country point after you wrote about his religious views and how you thought they affected his decisions on the supreme court. particularly his views on abortion. how important was his religion? and how do you think it affected him? >> i think scalia was a deeply religious person. and he would reject the proposition that as a justice he was influenced by his personal values, whether religious or otherwise. he very much believed that a justice should look to the

constitution that, it had an objective meaning and the responsibility of a justice was to apply that objective meaning without regard to one's own personal idiosyncratic values or preferences. whether scalia actually lived up to that aspiration i think many people were skeptical. but there is no doubt that he himself thought that was the case. >> all right. law prefoes or jeffrey stone, thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure, thank you. the pope celebrates mass with a quarter million people near mexico city this morning. in one of the country's poorest, most violent areas. during the outdoor ceremony the pope told his followers there can be no dialogue with the devils. adam raney was there with the faithful. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of people came out to celebrate mass with pope francis on sunday in this community on the edge of mexico city many sleeping here and coming out in freezing temperatures they didn't case because they wanted to share with him his message of

peace and love. he spoke of creating a mexico of community. a mexico where they don't do not have to leave or one that they don't have to fear being destroyed by dealers of death his words in reference to drug gangs and cartels. this resonates with the people that we have been speaking to who come from some of these violent communities. >> translator: i hope the pope through god's words can guide the mexican government. especially in my home state of veracruz, which is totally corrupt and violent. >> translator: whether we are neighbors, friends or relatives, violence affects us all. we are picturing the pope to bring hope to up mexicans with his message. >> reporter: by celebrating mass here in this violent community on the edge of mexico city, pope francis is standing in solidarity people feel with them because he's showing that he understands the problems they are going through and he is going to continue he says to spread this message as he travels from the south of mexico

all wait to the north where he will end his trip here on wednesday. and when he will say a prayer for migrants. so many of whom have died trying to make it to the united states. the munich security conference ended today with a stern warning about syria. senator john mccain addressed the crowd telling them not to trust russia's actions in the war-torn country. mccain pulled no punches as he accused russian president vladimir putin of using the turmoil to his own advantage. >> mr. putin is not interested in being our partner. he wants to shore up the assad regime, he wants to reestablish russia as a major power in the middle east. and he wants to exacerbate the refugee crisis. and use it as a weapon. >> mccain also predicted a syria ceasefire brokered by the secretary of state john kersey likely to fail. meanwhile, president obama has been talking with putin about the ceasefire plan and the bidder picture in syria. the two leaders spoke by phone

this weekend about their involvement in the country. the white house says obama urged putin to focus attacks on extremist instead of moderate intent to toppling president assad he also asked that blockades be removed to clear ththe way for humanitarian aid. in yemen five people dead and 10 injured following saudi air strike the strikes tagger tell the historic city 30 miles north of sanaa. generally's state news agency reports rescue workers are still trying to reach people burde bud in debris. saudi arabia leads the fighting. they have targeting youth i rebel positions but have been criticize today bombing civilian areas. iraqi soldiers are keeping a close watch on the oil fields in the north as they move towards mosul. the threat of an isil attack is a constant in oil-rich regions like tikrit where suicide bombings are morning innin.

imran kahn reports from baghdad. >> reporter: shia militiases announced that they had retaining tikrit. today just outside that city, this is the scene. isil, which still controls the countryside mounts attacks on the oil fields there. the battle over tikrit is crucial, iraqi forces in their advance towards mosul, iraq's second largest city which is controlled by isil. tikrit is an important hub because it's on the main highway leading to baghdad. the oil fields can produce up to 25,000-barrels a day with iraq's economy plummeting that ref knew crucial. isil hasn't managed to take control of the oil fields but is proving to be a difficult foe the iraqis. >> translator: every day we have an attack by isil. you can see them over there. they are using suicide car bombers and motorcycles. yesterday we had a suicide mota cross the canyon. but we managed to repel the attack. >> reporter: further north from

tikrit, over in kirkuk province, isil is firmly in control of the town. some residents have managed to flee, but others remain trapped. the escape for those that got out wasn't easy. >> translator: we left in a hurry. with total fear. we had to walk through farms to avoid discovery by isil. we then managed to escape from them and thank god we least. >> reporter: the aville general that fled are now in a village just outside tikrit. but with isil mounting attacks on oil fields, how long they will be safe there is not clear. there is no doubt that isil fighters tar i canning advantage of the fact that the iraqi army is stretched and fighting on multiple front. but the iraqi army says that these remnants of fighters mounting attacks in the countryside are simply isil's last stand and they will be dealt with soon, imran kahn, al jazeera, baghdad. when we come back, a california prison so brutal correctional officers are committing suicide. a story next.

plus a new disturbing united nations report on civilian deaths in afghanistan. and later, it could be a preview of the oscars. tonight london honors hollywood with the british academy film awards. ((úz@úxóxkxñ($9

♪ ♪ this week promises a triumphant return to paris in the wake of the terror attacks. the band eagles of death metal began touring again last night we show in stockholm and on tuesday the group will be back in paris playing ato limb pia

hall. eagles of death med metal had been per forming at the bataclan with terrorists stormed the venture use, 89 people there were killed. a dogs a new u.n. report shows the record number of casualties shattered for the seventh year in a row. al jazeera's reports from kabul. >> reporter: more civilians were killed or injured in fighting in afghanistan last year than at any time since u.s. and international forces invaded in 2001. the bleak statistic released in the u.n.'s latest report on civilian casualties in afghanistan. according to the report, more than 11,000 veil vinnies were killed or injured in 2015. among those casualties, more than 3,500 died. the u.n. report played the taliban and other anti--government forces for 62% of the casualties.

17% of the deaths and injuries were caused by afghan and international forces. the head of u.n.'s assistance mission in afghanistan told a news conference here that he wants all parties to the fighting to make an effort not to harm civilians. >> until we have a peace agreement we must call on all those parties engaged in the conflict who have it whip their power to reduce the number of civilian casualties to commit to taking every step that will avoid harm and injury to civilians. >> reporter: the report comes as the afghan government is pushing to negotiate with taliban factions who want peace, while promising to fight those who don't. but the record number of civilian casualties that coincides with an increase in afghan troop casualties, injects another element of uncertainty as to afghan security forces capacity to fight off the insurgency. al jazeera, kabul.

an effort to crack down on human trafficking in europe is underway. nato deployed ships to the aegean sea to prevent smugglers from transporting migrants from turkey to greece, dominic kane reports from munich where the refugee crisis is a major topic of discussion at the munich security conference. >> reporter: the crisis in syria both militarily and in materials of the humanitarian catastrophe that it has provoked over the past five years have been dominant things are themes here. i spoke to the secretary general of amnesty international who told me that he felt there was an absence of leadership by world powers and many of the regional players in the middle east regarding syria both in terms of the fighting and in terms of the humanitarian issue. the fact that nato is providing vessels in the mediterranean sea he felt was a good thing, but the fact also the greek vice else and the turkish vessels can only patrol their own without percent potentially a problem. then there is the fact that the turkish president erdogan has

said that, yes, the turks are able to turn back some refugees, but there will come a point at which they will no longer be able to do that and just have to say please carry on your journey is another perplexing moment in terms of the humanitarian crisis is concerned. certainly here at the munich security conference although some welcomed the agreement, others felt they were pessimistic about it. senator john mccain from the armed services committee, the chair of the committee, said that he was very pessimistic indeed and felt that the russian position was untenable. earlier we spoke with former u.s. ambassador to nato, kurt voelker and, asked him what we s thoughts were in the lack of u.s. support in the nato refugee operation. >> that in itself is curious form decades nato has really been heads by the united states, whether it's operations in kosovo, bosnia, afghanistan and so on, nato really only works best when the u.s. is in the

lead, when it's not it is a token effort at best. and frankly, the united states has a great interest in handling this refugee crisis. whether it is the impact on a british exit vote of the e.u., the immaterial possession of internal borders the rise of far right and far left party, political implications for angela merkel. there is a lot riding on this and it is of direct u.s. interest to try to help manage it. on saturday second o secretf state john kerry called it a near echo sensual threat to europe. a the situation at one northern california prison is so bad it may have led five correctional officers to commit suicide in the past seven years. the high desert state prison is located in susanville, a remote town in northeast california. a"america tonight's" michael has more. >> reporter: in the past seven years there have been five staff

suicides here at high desert prison, scott jones was number three. his widow janel. why did scott take his own life? >> the job. his job. >> reporter: in 2002, jones left a job at a grocery store and became a correctional officer or c.o.. by 2012, janel says, the excessive violence and stress overwhelmed him. one morning he dropped his 10-year-old son off at school, drove to secluded area and shot himself in the head. is this the note that scott left? >> he did. gentlemajanel, love you, the joe do it. >> reporter: a year before his suicide. scott and a few co-workers tried to get the word out. they sent this letter to the state's whistle blower tip line asking for protection. they never heard back. his fellow guards soon found out janel says, and they retaliated. you believe that some of the commanding officers were actually fabricating things about scott?

>> uh-huh. >> reporter: telling them to the inmates so that the inmates would target scott? >> yes. >> reporter: what affect did this have on him? was he constantly looking over his shower? >> oh, constantly. yes. >> reporter: what did he say to? >> i remember that one of the things that he said is that jaques nelly thought going do this job was best thing for our family and i think this is the biggest mistake i have ever made. he was tired of looking over his shoulder. he was tired of trying to understand what the heck they are wanting him to do. he hated it. he hated life. >> reporter: there are 32 other prisons in california, and yet they didn't have all these suicides. seems like there is something going on there at high desert. >> i think there is something going on there. i think it has a lot to do with the town. >> reporter: susanville, where high desert is located, is tiny. prisoners make up nearly half of the town's 17,000 residents.

now nearly everyone is connected to the prison. if you don't work there, you know someone who does. in a town this small, speaking up is a tall order. >> you may say something at work and get someone in trouble and you night get past it at work normally but then you come home and they are right next door. >> reporter: the prison is the biggest employer in the county. and one way, there are just as trapped as the inmates. michael, al jazeera, susanville, california. still ahead, a journalist who spent much of his career solving heinous crimes from the civil rights era. >> if somebody killed me, somebody kills me. i tends to think in faith terms. so if someone kills me, then it just means i am going home sooner. a trip to mississippi to meet jerry mitchell still ahead. but first, president obama prepares for a summit with asian leaders, a look at the economic and security issues on the table

is tonight's topic for the week ahead.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. mourners are leaving flowers at the supreme court steps in honor of antonin scalia who died yesterday. president obama says he'll choose a nominee in the coming

weeks while republicans want to wait until after the election. pope francis continues his first visit to mexico as pontiff today with a mass to hundreds of thousands during his home lee he warned mexican president neito and his government against the temptations of wealth and corruption. the pope called mexico a land of opportunity where it is not necessary to be exploited to work. president obama and vladimir putin continue their talks about the war in syria. the white house says obama spoke to the russian leader on the phone and urged putin to focus attacks on extremists. russia has been accused of targeting moderates would wants to topple the assad regime. sits sunday night and time for our regular look at the week ahead. on monday personal welcomeses asean to a summit in southern california. part of his ongoing effort to seek stronger ties with the region. >> it will focus economic issues

including the newly-signed trans-pacific partnership. president obama will likely urge asean countries that haven't joined t.p.p. to do so. territorial disputes in the south china sea will likely come up. china claims control over the waters. and while the u.s. takes no position on the territorial claim, it insists the seas have to remain open for navigation. and that leads to a bigger issue. china's economic influence and military power. some asian nations want the u.s. to remain a strong presence in the region to counter beijing. well, others have criticized the u.s. involvement. al jazeera's patricia sobga has more on what to expect from the sum and it's who stands to gain the most from the meeting. >> reporter: this is what rebalancing looks like. president obama standing shoulder to shoulder last november with leaders from asean. >> and now the asean way. >> reporter: the association of southeast asian nations a club of 10 countries in a region

dominated by china and where washington is determined to remain a major player. >> asia pacific is absolutely critical to promoting security, prosperity and human dignity around the world. >> reporter: the first stand-alone meeting in the united states with southeast asian leaders this week's summit in southern california will formally elevate the u.s. asean relationship to a strategic partnership. a symbolic upgrade root ed in concerns over china's economic left and growing military might. >> we have successfully concluded the trans pa specific partnership negotiations. [ applause ] >> reporter: four asean fashions are part of the trans pacific partnership. the largest trade pack in history that if ratified will bind asia closer to the united states. four asean countries also lay claim to parts of the south china sea. which china has marked out as it's a sovereign territory.

an expansive claim beijing has tried to cement by building islands. >> we will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law permits. >> reporter: and which washington has in turn challenged by sailing u.s. warships within 12 nautical miles of the artificial features. the obama ahead administration says the summit is not anti-china, but rather the culmination of a seven-year effort to reorient u.s. foreign policy toward asia. a pivot whose success will ultimately be measured by how much influence washington continues to wheeled in beijing's back yard. patricia sobga, al jazeera. and joining me now is an lee a professor at new york university and an expert on asian economic issues. and from washington d.y. i am joined by kelly curry, a senior fellow at the project 2049 institute which is a nonprofit focus oddfocused on creating a e

secure asia region. a summit like this here in the united states being hosted here is kind of unprecedented. is the u.s. having a new priority here? has this ever been a top priority? and what is the significance of this summit? >> well, having it sunny land does elevate the asean nations and i would say that clearly this is part of obama's way to try to entice the nation to his work more closely with the u.s. right now as we know, only a handful of nations have sign odd to t.p.p. another handful are on the fence about it. and then there are clearly nation that his probably won't join at all because they are much more in the china camp. and so this group of nations, although they are getting closer to together economically, the

reality is that they are still very disparate nations it's nowhere near close to the european union by any standards. it will difficult for president obama to work with them at some kind of multi-lateral block because they are not even couldn't that go closely yet. so it will be interesting what they end up talking about because i don't think that they are going to come to much agreement on anything. >> interesting. i want to talk to kill, bring her in here. i want you to talk about china's role in this and the battle over the south china sea. if you can explain what is the u.s. interest in the south china sea and how do you think that will play in to this summit? >> the u.s. has two main interests in the south china sea, one is preserving freedom of navigation for itself and others in the international waters of the south china sea and the other is insuring the all the disputes rangeing

between china and other claimants and between some of the other claimants that don't have to do with china, that those disputes are settled according to international law. and that they are settled peaceably wrath he were than through coercion. >> i want to get your take on what do you think the significance of china is in this meet something. >> well, clearly it's, even though obama says it's not anti anti-china in a way the u.s. is in competition with china over influence in that region of the so, yes, it is about china and china is not invited to this meeting. and i would say that that's probably, you know, the big elephant in the room where the u.s. is going to try to court these nations. particularly in the security area. so while t.p.p. is important to the u.s. the fact remains it hasn't even passed here in the u.s. so until it does, these other nations are on the fence, can't

even participate in that. so economically speaking, you know, it's not as important, frankly, you know, the u.s. does more trade with the northern asian powers and really this is more about a security issue around south china sea. >> you are mentioned t.p.p. the trantrans-pacific partnership. less than half of the countries coming this summit is a part of that. can you explain whether you think this is an opportunity for the united states to get more members to sign on? >> they may try but i don't think it's really going to be very productive use. because i think the other countries just aren't ready to sign onto the standards that this trade agreement wants to put in place. and these standards could be around interim lex tal property and other things so fits not realistic i don't think that they are going to sign on for

their zone self interest. again, i would say the u.s. is more interested in talking to these nations more about security issues than trying to maybe allow more u.s. security forces in the region and talk about those issues more. >> kelly, did you want to weigh in on this as well, do you think this will be an opportunity for the u.s. to ask for more signatories to this t.p.p.? >> well, i think that right now all of the countries that are really able to participate in t.p.p. are currently sign the up. the other countries just economically and in terms of their own legal systems and other issues just aren't ready to participate in an agreement of the quality of t.p.p. so that is true. at the same time, i doubt that putting, you know, that expanding the presence of u.s. security force is his going to be a big focal point here. the real reason to do this is to develop the u.s.-asean

relationship and bring it to a better level and he can pants upon the kind of diplomatic contacts have that have been developed over the past few years as part of the rebalance and the engagement of is ian, but this is not a place where the u.s. is going to talk about basing rights or addition troop deployments in the region. this is issues are far too sensitive for too many of the members of asean to even be on the table at a venue like this. >> and if you can expand a little bit on some of the economic issues here. you know, the member countries, in this group that are meeting here make up the fourth largest trading partner with the united states. can you describe what exactly you think the u.s. is going to be pushing for on an economic level? kill. >> i think that asean is still at an early age, they are still working on lowering tariff and nontariff among the asean countries riz.

the u.s. would like to see that development twopbt especially the lagging asean countries cambodia, burma, lao start to end up on their comments economies more and develop more open systems that can allow for greater trade between the united states and those countries and to improve the quality of their own economic investment in their own people whether it's improving healthcare or the rule of law in certain countries cou. >> ann i want to get your take on what will happen once the president leaves office. is this a relationship that is going to continues in the same way where do you see the future of this relationship going? >> i think it will continue to grow. obama had basically assigned an ambassador to the asean region for the first time and this ambassador had actually grown his staff there during this

tenure in that region, and so i think that the relationship is probably going to advance but, again, it's not a cohesive group like the e.u. there is no one leader that represents all of the nations together as, oh, if you want to talk to asean, who is it that you call? there isn't that kind of person. and so it remain a loose coalition of nations and the u.s. don't just have one on one bbilateral relationships with these nations mostly. it will be interesting on how they want to work together because they are, you know, on very different end of the spectrum on most of these issues. >> quickly, kim, i want to you give your thoughts on what should be -- what should we make of the format of this meet something i know in the past it's been very regimented i have read words describe this is as a free for all. how would you describe what do we wake of the format of this meet something. >> this appears to be the kind

of meeting that the white house likes to have. they have hosted some summits at sunny land before, including with the president of china, and they see it as a venue for a more informal engagement. and asean tends to be quite formal with their diplomatic engagements right up until the end when they usually do some kind of skits and things like that. but this seems to be an effort to get the -- to not only get to know these leaders themselveses but to have them get to know each other as well in a more informal setting. but we'll see how it goes. because these leaders are not really used to dealing with each other like this. >> all right, excellent. thank you kelly curry and ann lee, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. and before we go, here a look at some other stories we'll be watching in the week ahead. on monday, french authorities will visit a refugee camp in france where about a thousand people are living. they are expected to tell the refugees that they must leave.

residents of kayla have said the camp is hurting tourism. pope francis will travel to the mexican border town of juarez on wednesday where he will deliver a mass he is expected to speak about immigration on friday reverend jesse jackson is planning to hold a march in plenty michigan along with 50 other ministers to protest the actions of state officials which led to the city's water crisis. up next, a man who risked his life to solve crimes committed by racists from the civil rights era. >> if somebody kills me, somebody kills me. i tend to think in faith terms and so if someone kills me, then it just means i am going home sooner. the story next. plus london honors hollywood with the british academy film awards. a possible preview of the oscars. >> meteorologist: temperatures are on the rebound after we broke records this morning across much of the northeast, but a new system is on its way

and it promises that on monday and tuesday we are looking for some very messy weather across much of the eastern se seaboard, i'll bring you more details that have when i return.

tonight is hollywood's biggest night outside of the united states. the bafta film awards were handed out in london. as with the oscars this year's ceremony was marred by claims of racism. al jazeera's phil lavelle reports from the show. >> and the bafta goes to the

"revenant." >> reporter: well, that was hardly a surprise. yes, this was an incredibly tough year to call the winners, even the critics found it hard to commit to predictions. but this film stood one of the best chance. lot. five awards for the "revenant", including three of the main ones, best film being best actor for leo nad owe decaprio and there is your best director al happen low inarritu, he lost out last year when his "birdman" failed to take off here. second time lucky for him. it wasn't hairline dispoint expect cases cate blanchett missed out. this is her in "carol." nine nominations this movie had. but in the end best actress went to. >> brie larson. [cheering and applause] >> reporter: an up and coming star for this. "room." the tale of a woman and her child held captive for years in a shed. "room" is not an easy watch. but per performance has been

astounding critics. the baftas are wish tisch fulham big night. the clue is in the name, that's what the "b" stands for. but so is the nature of the industry, you will see talent from all over the world. these are widely seen as an indication of what will happen at the as course in hollywood in two week's time, all see the same faces and names, some cases all the a hear about the statement controversy as well. case in point, this year, the lack of diversity. this protest had been embraced by bafta, which allowed demonstrators themselves members of the industry, on to the red carpet to hand out flyers. bafta says it is going to increase the diversity of its members. an issue that the oscars are also facing. >> kate winslet. >> reporter: back to the awards. and kate winslet walked off with best supporting actress for her role in the steve jobs biopic.

best supporting actor was mark from chill bridge of surprise ." which meant nothing for idris alba. he's missed out here and at the golden globes now for this "beasts of no nation." and no mention of him at the oscar cars either. he has some some become one. >> reporter: face ofaces of this campaign for the pleas for it to be open to anybody, any race, any gender, any class. but as the industry enters a period of soul searching even poking fun at itself. >> and the nominations for best white actress go to. >> reporter: the question is, how long will that real ar real? well, it is still bitterly cold here on the east coast, kevin here is give us the details. >> meteorologist: it is cold. but not as cold as it was 24 hours ago, so that's the good news. we have one more day of it here across east coast. and then the temperatures are going to rebound quite

dramatically i have to say. i'll show new that a moment. this is what we were dealing with this morning these cities here the black boxes indicate a few of the cities that broke records this morning for the lowest recorded temperatures and and, -- ever. and you can see that mere. you factor in the wind chill we are talking between minus 25 and minus 35 in some locations temperatures are not looking too bad. most everybody above the -- above zero in this area, but we are still feeling a little bit of that wind chill and some of those locations. now, we are going to convert those off, gets rid of the wind chill warning that his we had before. but now we have winter storm warnings as well as winter storm watches for much of the area. that's because we have another system that is in the making. and as you can see down here, across much of virginia parts of

the the carolinas as he'll white sox back here towards tennessee, this area is expected to get anywhere between six and possibly up to 15-inches of snow and you can see the snow is already falling. what will happen, this system will development and take a look at this forecast map as we go towards monday. we are looking at a very messy situation and that is also going to continue through tuesday as well. >> so call owl your friends on the west coast if you live here on the east, thanks so much, kevin. february is black history month and tonight we are taking a closer look in a dark chapter in the struggling for civil rights in mississippi a newspaper reporter has spent his career digging up new clues in murder cases from the 1960s, randall pinkston has more on this man's extraordinary journey. >> if somebody kills my, somebody killed me. i tends to think in faith terms and so if someone kills me, then it just means i am going home

sooner. >> reporter: investigative reporter jerry mitchell has risked his life traveling the back roads of the deep south. looking for a special breed of killer. who were the three civil rights workers killed? >> right here. right along this ditch up the road here. >> reporter: men who murdered civil rights activists decades ago with impunity. >> pulled them out of the car, and said are you that "n" word lover. and he said, sir, i understand how you feel. and robert pressed his begun on his chest and pulled the tryinger. >> reporter: they were helping african americans register to vote in mississippi. when they were ambushed and killed in 1964. and they weren't alone. the back roads of mississippi still hold many dark secrets, during the vie hasn't days of the civil rights movement, african american families were often hesitant to report disappearances or murders for

law enforcement authorities because they didn't trust them. and jerry mitchell says, they had good reason. in fact, the trio was delivered to a lynch mob by the county's deputy sheriff. cecil price. >> yeah, he was in the clan and so was the sheriff laurence trainee. >> reporter: it would take 41 years for a murder prosecution in the case. after mitchell's digging led him to the masterminds of the plot, a preacher named edwar kay killing. >> were you nervous? >> no, we were in a public place, he actually want immediate to come his house actually but it would be at like 9:00 at night and i was like, that's okay. >> reporter: mitchell's investigation helped secure new evidence, leading to his conviction on three counts manslaughter. >> reporter: mitchell grew up mostly unaware he says. civil rights moving. >> i grew up in my insular kind of white south in east texas. and i used -- i didn't get exposed to a lot of it. >> reporter: the movie, mississippi burning, opened his

eyes. >> scared to death, man. >> don't you call me man, boy. >> reporter: as did learning about his own newspaper's past. when you learned the legacy of this paper what, did you think? how did you feel? >> i was horrified. >> reporter: decades early and under different ownership, it support segregation and had close ties to the sovereignty commission a state agent@is a that kept tags on activists like the three murdered men. so the newspapers were honor began. >> absolutely. >> reporter: of the state spy agency. >> shraoeubt. >> reporter: is that was opposed to civil rights. >> absolutely. i said when i found that out we have to write about ourselves. >> reporter: the former governor says the commission was formed in 1956 to promote mississippi. >> it was to be a p.r. operation. >> reporter: but by the '60s, it operated in the shadows. >> exactly how it br* that work? >> well, they would infiltrate the ranks of the citizens of the

naacp. it was really an arm of white segregation assists who were determined at all costs to prevents any sort of integration, particularly in the schools. >> reporter: through a source, mitchell got his hands on more than 2300 pages of sealed sovereignty commission fights and found that mississippi naacp leader medgar evers had been a major target. they recorded his movements, portraying the world war ii veteran as an enemy of the state. so he was coming back home from an naacp rally? >> he was. >> reporter: in june 1963, evers was shot and killed in the driveway of his home. his wife and children were inside. >> as he stepped forward he got shot in the back. and then went through that window, the corner of the window here. went through a wall, hit the refrigerator, and landed on the counter. >> reporter: his accused murderer, byron was tried twice but both injuries deadlocked.

pouring through the commission's reports mitchell made a crucial discovery. >> at the same time the state of mississippi was prosecuting him for killing medgar evers this other arm of the state was secretly assisting in his defense trying to get him acquitted. >> reporter: mitchell persuaded beckwith to give him an interview. the chat lasted sick hours with what mitchell said was hate-filled rhetoric. >> he walks me out to the car and says if you write negative things about white caucasian christians, god will punish you. if god does not punish you directly, several individuals will do it for him. >> reporter: but mitchell's story ran, prompting new witness to his come forward saying beckwith had bragged of the killing. medgar evers brother charles at first was skeptical about mitchell's work. >> i thought it was just some white boy trying to make a name for himself. back in those days no white people were speaking up for us. jerry mitch is one of the few whites, to this day, that

hazardous right by everybody. and i love him as a brother and i respect him as a reporter. >> reporter: in 1994, beckwith was convicted of first degree murder in medgar evers death. it helped convict sam bowers of killing civil rights leader vernon damer in 1966, and in the 1963 birmingham alabama church bombing that killed four little girls helped secure a murder conviction against klansman bobby cherry. after talking to you he was prosecuted. >> yeah, he was. you would think they would get tipped otip-off at a certain po. >> reporter: thathat's what i ws going ask you. et cetera work oiling action book titled race against time. why that title? >> time is running out to be able to prosecute these cases. >> reporter: but even if no suspects remain, says mitchell, telling the story is just as important. doing justice to history.

no matter the risk. >> it's led to unexpected gift. which is living fearlessly. i began to -- we all live for something greater than me. i am not that big i've deal. >> reporter: randle pinkston, al jazeera, jackson, mississippi. thank you for joining us tonight. i am lori jane gliha in new york city. i'll be back with another hour of news at 11:00 p.m. eastern, 8:00 p.m. pacific. stay tuned "faultlines" is next. >> the violence and the threat of violence is ever present. >> i deal with this every day of my life! >> i don't like to see people get killed. >> al jazeera america's hard-hitting. >> today, they will be arrested. >> they're firing canisters of gas at us.

>> emmy award-winning investigative series.

>> my family, a part of them, they get killed. and i don't like to see people get killed. those people that died, that was really close.. i miss them like i don't really going to -- i can't really be on them.