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. It provides the first opportunity to consider the evidence, five years after the killings. Bottom of Page 1977 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.
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. The victims settle out of court. Some victims claim the statement is an apology, but the defendants and their attorneys dispute that. 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. At the dedication ceremonies, Ohio Governor Richard Celeste apologizes to the families of the four slain students and the nine surviving victims.