It was ME that murdered Sammy Noone

"Toland... it was me that murdered Sammy Noone."
"Looking at it in retrospect, it's plain that I wasn't giving the bastard any quarter because what he'd said to me had hit way too close to home. Y'see I'd known for years that I was really the one who'd murdered Sammy Noone."

I guess I should of foreseen something terrible happening like the lynching of Sammy Noone, but unfortunately I did not. When I started to read the scene where Sammy is killed my pulse began to race, my palms began to sweat, and I started muttering warnings at the pages as if the characters could hear me and react. I was completely engulfed in the story and like every other character my emotions were at a high. I was terribly sad at the incident, which soon turned to anger. This anger searched for someone to blame, but it did not point a finger at either Orley or Toland.

So, I thought it was interesting that both of these characters felt responsible for Sammy's death instead of blaming the people truly responsible for putting the noose around Sammy's neck. Guilt and misplaced anger seem run rampant through this book and while Toland feels them frequently, it seems that almost every character feels these emotions as well.

With this in mind I cannot help but wonder if these emotions are also apparent in the South during this time. Within this book the reader witness acts of violence and hate, and the victims described feel these emotions, but what about the abusers? Are they committing these acts because they are part of that old generation and are resisting the changing ways? Or are they attempting to fill the south model that perceives African Americans below Caucasians? Could they possibly feel any guilt for their actions?

My Question: Who do you think is responsible for Sammy Noone's death? And what is the purpose for all of this guilt, does it tie any way to the southern ideologies or methods of the time?