Till's body was returned to Chicago. His mother wanted on a public funeral service with an open casket. She wanted this to show the world how her son had been killed. Tens of thousands of people went to his funeral or saw his casket. Images of his body were published in black magazines and newspapers. This caused support from both black and white people in the United States. At first, local newspapers and law enforcement officials spoke against the violence and asked for justice. They soon began dealing with national criticism by defending the people of Mississippi. This led to support for the people said to be the killers.