RSS Feed
March 9th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
Attempt underway to clear four black men of rape
Officials in both the Florida city and the Florida county where a rape allegedly occurred 67 years ago are now seeking exoneration for the four black men convicted of the crime. Commissioners for the city of Groveland and the Lake County Commissioners have passed proclamations to be sent to Governor Rick Scott urging that he and his cabinet apologize for the miscarriage of justice and pardon the men for the crime despite lack of evidence that the crime occurred.
In 1949, Ernest Thomas, Walter Irving, Charles Greenlee, and Samuel Shepherd were accused by a 17-year-old white woman of raping her. Thomas fled Lake County but was tracked down and killed by a deputized posse that included Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall. The other men stood trial and were convicted. Greenlee, a juvenile, was sentenced to life in prison. Irving and Shepherd were sentenced to death. While transporting Irving and Shepherd from the state prison to the county jail, Sheriff McCall shot them, claiming they jumped him in an escape attempt. Shepherd died instantly. Irving said he survived by playing dead and told officials the sheriff deliberately shot them.
Irving had his sentence commuted to life in prison. He was paroled in 1968 after serving 21 years behind bars. He died in 1970 during a visit to Lake County. After serving 12 years behind bars, Greenlee served another 10 years on parole. He died at the age of 78 in 2012.
Many people believe the men were wrongly accused and punished. The only evidence presented against them were the testimonies of the woman and her husband. The defendants all had alibis. The doctor who examined the woman wrote in his report that he was unable to find any physical evidence that any rape occurred on the night in question. The prosecuting attorneys had a copy of the doctor’s report but did not share it with defense attorneys when it was requested. “You never convict somebody with the amount of evidence that was submitted”, said County Commissioner Leslie Campione.
Groveland Mayor Loucks said: “There comes a time when you cannot ignore, should not ignore anything like this. It’s time to face things and let the healing process begin. Please accept our sincere apologies.” Lake County Commissioner Jimmy Conner said: “It’s never too late to say ‘I’m sorry.’ I apologize as a commissioner for the racism. Even though none of us here are responsible for what happened, some of the agencies we represent were.”
The proclamations will be sent to support a proposed bill filed by Sen. Geraldine Thomas to exonerate the men. Sen. Thompson said the local proclamations indicating wrongdoing will make it easier for the bill to get through Legislature.
Related Articles:
Related Posts via Taxonomies
Source Article from http://politicalblindspot.com/florida-officials-seek-exoneration-of-black-men-falsely-accused-of-1949-rape/
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
