The Groveland Four (or the Groveland Boys) were four
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
teens, Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd, and
Walter Irvin. In July 1949, the four were accused of raping a white woman and severely beating her husband in
Lake County,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. The oldest, Thomas, tried to elude capture and was killed that month. The others were put on trial. Shepard and Irvin received
death sentence
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
s, and Greenlee was sentenced to
life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...
. The events of the case led to serious questions about the arrests, allegedly coerced confessions and mistreatment, and the unusual
sentencing
In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences f ...
following their convictions. Their incarceration was exacerbated by their systemic and unlawful treatment—including the death of Shepherd, and the near-fatal shooting of Irvin. Greenlee was paroled in 1962 and Irvin in 1968. All four were
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
exonerated by the state of Florida in 2021.
Details
Thomas, Shepherd, Irvin, and Greenlee (then 16) were accused of raping 17-year-old Norma Padgett and assaulting her husband on July 16, 1949, in
Groveland, Lake County, Florida.
On July 26, 1949, Thomas fled and was killed by a sheriff's posse of 1,000 white men, who shot him over 400 times while he allegedly fled after being found asleep under a tree in southern
Madison County. Greenlee, Shepherd, and Irvin were arrested. They were beaten to coerce confessions, but Irvin refused to confess. The three survivors were convicted at trial by an
all-white jury
Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...
. Greenlee was sentenced to life in prison because he was only 16 at the time of the alleged crime; the other two were sentenced to death.
In 1949,
Harry T. Moore, the executive director of the
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
, organized a campaign against the wrongful conviction of the three African Americans. Two years later, the case of two defendants reached the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
on appeal, with special counsel of the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City.
LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...
Thurgood Marshall
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...
as their defense counsel. In 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a retrial after hearing the appeals of Shepherd and Irvin. It ruled they had not received a
fair trial
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
because no evidence had been presented, because of excessive adverse publicity, as well as because black people had been excluded from the jury. The court overturned the convictions and remanded the case to the lower court for a new trial.
In November 1951, Sheriff
Willis V. McCall of Lake County, Florida shot Irvin and Shepherd while they were in his custody and handcuffed together. McCall claimed they had tried to escape while he was transporting them from
Raiford State Prison back to the county seat of
Tavares for the new trial. Shepherd died on the spot; Irvin survived and later told
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
investigators that McCall had shot them in cold blood and that his deputy, Yates, had also shot him in an attempt to kill him.
[Michael Newton 8"=!&9: ''Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934-1970'', p. 199]
online
Harry Moore called for the
Governor of Florida
The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...
to suspend McCall. On Christmas Night 1951, a bomb went off below Moore's house, fatally wounding both him and his wife; he died that night and his wife followed nine days later. The bombers were never caught.
At the second trial, Irvin was represented by Marshall and again convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. In 1955, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison by recently elected Governor
LeRoy Collins
Thomas LeRoy Collins (March 10, 1909 – March 12, 1991) was an American politician who served as the 33rd governor of Florida from 1955 to 1961. Collins began his governorship after winning a special election in 1954, and was elected to a fo ...
. He was paroled in 1968, but died the next year in Lake County, purportedly of natural causes.
Greenlee was paroled in 1962 and lived with his family until he died in 2012. In 2016, the City of Groveland and Lake County each apologized to survivors of the four men for the injustice against them. On April 18, 2017, a resolution of the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
requested that all four men be exonerated. The
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
quickly passed a similar resolution; lawmakers called on Governor
Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...
to officially pardon the men. On January 11, 2019, the Florida Board of Executive Clemency voted to pardon the Groveland Four.
Newly elected Governor
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...
subsequently did so. On November 22, 2021, Judge Heidi Davis granted the state's motion to posthumously exonerate the men.
The accused
Charles L. Greenlee
Charles L. Greenlee (born 4 June 1933, Florida),
was the son of Thomas H. and Emma Greenlee, who were born in Georgia and Alabama, respectively.
[ ncestry.com. Florida, State Census, 1867-1945 [database on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. "Charles L. Greenlee", in Florida, State Census, 1867-1945], Ancestry.com; accessed 13 October 2018] His family was living in Columbia County, Florida, Columbia County when he was two,
["Tom Greenlee", in Florida, State Census, 1867-1945], Ancestry.com. Florida, State Census, 1867-1945 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.] but they had moved to
Baker County by the time Charles was 12.
His father worked in turpentine manufacturing in 1935
and later as a laborer, likely also in the timber industry. In 1945, Charles and four of his siblings were all in school.
Greenlee had come to Groveland in July 1949 looking for work, as he was already married and his wife was pregnant.
Walter Irvin
Walter Lee Irvin (born 8 May 1927,
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
), was living in Groveland when he registered for the draft in May 1945. He listed his mother Ellia Irvin as next of kin. He was working at the time for Apshawa Groves. He was recorded as 5'3" and weighing 105 pounds, and was described in his registration as "light brown", with brown eyes and black hair.
["Walter Lee Irvin", in U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947](_blank)
Ancestry.com He served in the Army, leaving with the rank of private.
Samuel Shepherd
Samuel Shepherd (born 7 April 1927) was born in
Fitzgerald, Georgia
Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County, Georgia, Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of 2020, its population was 9,006. It is the principal cit ...
["Samuel Shepherd, in U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"](_blank)
Ancestry.com; accessed 13 October 2018 to Henry Shepherd and his wife Charlie M (Robinson) Shepherd, both of Georgia. His father was working in the lumber industry.
["Henry Shepherd, 1930 Census, Ben Hill, GA](_blank)
Ancestry.com The Shepherd family moved to Groveland, Florida, where his father achieved ownership of his own farm by clearing and developing former swamp land.
When Samuel Shepherd registered for the draft in 1945, he was described as 5'8", 149 pounds, with a light brown complexion, brown eyes and black hair. He gave his father Henry Shepherd as next of kin.
Shepherd and Irvin were friends and fellow veterans after World War II.
PBS, ''The Legacy of Harry T. Moore'', 2000; accessed 13 October 2018
Ernest Thomas
Ernest Thomas (born Florida), was married by July 1949 and living and working near Groveland. He had encouraged Greenlee to come there because of jobs related to the citrus groves.
After returning to Groveland following their military service, Shepherd and Irvin both continued to wear their uniforms. They were proud of their service, which some of the local whites resented. Sheriff Willis McCall was known for supporting
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of human ...
, and keeping a strong hold on workers and against union organizing. He was part of ensuring there was a ready supply of low-wage workers to man the orange groves. Shepherd could work with his father, and Irvin was determined to find an alternative to the orange groves.
Events
Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee (age 16); Samuel Shepherd (age 22), and
Walter Irvin (age 22), were identified by the police as suspects. Shepherd and Irvin were both veterans of service in the Army; and both Thomas and Greenlee were married.
Irvin and Shepherd were arrested shortly after Padgett reported the attack. The police took the men in their patrol car to a secluded spot and ordered them out of the car. Both men were beaten by police with blackjacks and fists and kicked as they lay on the ground, while being asked if they had picked up a white girl. Afterward, they were taken to the spot where the crime happened. Deputy Yates inspected Shepherd's shoes, which he had worn the night before. Yates was frustrated to see that the soles did not match footprints in the ground at the scene. Irvin's were the same, but Irvin claimed that he was wearing a different pair of shoes. The two men were taken to Tavares jail, where they were interrogated in the basement while cuffed to overhead pipes and severely beaten. A mob rioted and burned Shepherd's house and two others to the ground. Only the presence of the National Guard halted the destruction caused by the rioters. Cockcroft, the leader of the riot, revealed the mob's intentions when he told a reporter, "The next time, we'll clean out every Negro section in south Lake County."
Fleeing suspect
Charles Greenlee was a 16-year-old who had come from Gainesville and was trying to find work with his friend Ernest Thomas. Thomas had convinced Greenlee that there were plenty of jobs in Groveland. Greenlee was waiting at a rail depot to meet Thomas when he was arrested and brought to the police station under suspicion. Greenlee was interrogated and beaten in a cell that night until he admitted to the rape of Norma Padgett. Thomas escaped capture and fled Lake County the following morning. Greenlee admitted to having been with Thomas. Police learned where the latter lived and where he was hiding, as they found a letter in his letterbox addressed to his wife.
Lake County Sheriff
Willis McCall appointed a
posse
Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates.
Posse may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Posse'' (1975 ...
of more than 1000 armed men. They found and killed Thomas about away in
Madison County, Florida
Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida, and borders the state of Georgia to the north. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,968. Its county seat is also called Madison.
History
Locate ...
, following a lengthy chase through the swamps. He was shot by the posse at least 400 times and died of his wounds; officers reported that Thomas was armed and allegedly reached for a weapon. According to the coroner's inquest, Lake County Sheriff McCall was at the scene when Thomas was shot. The coroner's jury determined that Thomas had been lawfully killed and ruled his death a justifiable homicide.
Trial
A grand jury indicted the three remaining rape suspects. Shepherd and Greenlee separately later told FBI investigators that the deputies beat them until they confessed. Irvin refused to confess, despite also being severely beaten. An FBI investigation concluded that Lake County Sheriff's Department deputies James Yates and Leroy Campbell were responsible for the beatings, and agents documented the physical abuse with photographs. The Justice Department urged the U.S. Attorney in Tampa to file charges, but U.S. Attorney Herbert Phillips was reluctant, and failed to return indictments.
The NAACP helped with the men's defense, hiring Orlando attorney
Franklin Williams. After interviewing the three surviving suspects, Williams said each had independently stated that he was beaten by Lake County deputies. Shepherd and Greenlee both told
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agents that they confessed to raping Padgett in order to stop the beatings. Irvin never confessed and maintained his innocence.
Thurgood Marshall
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...
, the lead lawyer of the NAACP, pressed the Justice Department and the FBI to initiate a civil rights and domestic violence investigation into the beatings. Marshall convinced the Justice Department that the beatings violated the men's rights, and the FBI dispatched agents to investigate. The FBI later concluded that Lake County deputies James Yates and Leroy Campbell had violated the Groveland men's civil rights and urged U.S. Attorney
Herbert Phillips of Florida to prosecute, but a grand jury did not return indictments of the deputies.
The prosecution never introduced the coerced confessions as evidence into the trial.
There is uncertainty about whether Padgett was raped. The prosecution did not question Dr. Geoffrey Binneveld, the physician who examined her, on the stand. Judge
Truman Futch did not permit the defense to call the doctor as a witness. According to his records, Binneveld could not tell whether she had been raped. He found no evidence of tears or wounds in the vagina other than the lacerations mentioned above. Laboratory analysis of a vaginal smear revealed no
spermatozoa
A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; : spermatozoa; ) is a motile sperm cell (biology), cell produced by male animals relying on internal fertilization. A spermatozoon is a moving form of the ploidy, haploid cell (biology), cell that is ...
present in the vagina, nor any organisms resembling
gonococci, which could have been other evidence of sex. There were no other gross signs of bruises, breaks in the skin or other signs of violence.
Shepherd and Irvin said that they had been together drinking in
Eatonville, Florida
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of Greater Orlando. Incorporated on August 15, 1887, it was one of the first self-governing all-black municipalities in the United States. ( Bro ...
, the night of the alleged attack. Greenlee said he was nowhere near the other defendants on that night and that he had never met Shepherd and Irvin before.
The defense accused Sheriff McCall's deputies of manufacturing evidence to win a conviction. All three men were convicted by the
all-white jury
Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...
. Shepherd and Irvin were sentenced to death, and Greenlee, who was a minor, was sentenced to life.
Appeals and shootings
The NAACP took on assisting the defense in appeals. In 1951 Marshall led the defense in an appeals hearing for Irvin and Shepherd at the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
. It overturned the convictions of both men based on adverse pre-trial publicity, and remanded the case to the lower court for a new trial. (Greenlee had not appealed his sentence of life imprisonment.)
McCall was transporting Shepherd and Irvin from
Raiford State Prison back to the Lake County jail in Tavares when he claimed to have a flat tire. Alone with the two handcuffed prisoners, McCall pulled down a dirt road to inspect the tire, outside Umatilla, Florida, north of Tavares. He claimed that Shepherd asked to relieve himself, and when the two prisoners, cuffed together, got out of the car, they attacked McCall. He drew his pistol and shot at them. The shooting took place on a dark country road outside the town. He shot each prisoner three times. Shepherd was killed instantly, and Irvin survived by playing dead.
The following morning, at the hospital where he had been taken for treatment, Irvin told FBI agents and reporter
Mabel Norris Reese that the shooting was unprovoked. He said McCall had shot him and Shepherd in cold blood, staging the scene to make it look like an escape attempt, and that Lake County Deputy James Yates had joined McCall at the scene, seen that Irvin was still breathing, and fired one last shot through Irvin's neck. Irvin survived. The FBI later found a bullet buried in the ground beneath Irvin's blood spot that appeared to support his account of the shooting. A nail found in the front wheel of McCall's car appeared to have caused his claimed "tire trouble" that night. McCall said that he had no idea how the nail got there, but the FBI believed that it had been placed there.
An all-white coroner's jury, made up of many of McCall's friends, took half an hour to find Shepherd's death justified. They concluded that McCall had been acting in line of duty and in self-defense. McCall was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Harry T. Moore bombing
Harry T. Moore, executive director of the Florida
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
, demanded in 1951 that McCall be indicted for murder following the Groveland rape case, and requested that the governor suspend him from office. Six weeks after calling for McCall's removal, Moore and his wife were killed by a bomb that exploded under their bedroom in
Mims,
Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county s ...
on December 25, 1951, but an extensive
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
investigation at the time and additional separate investigations in 1978, 1991, and 2005 found no evidence of McCall's involvement.
In 2005, a new investigation was launched by the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities, and ...
that included excavation of the Moore home to search for forensic evidence. On August 16, 2006,
Florida Attorney General
The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs.
The office is ...
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...
announced his office had completed its 20-month investigation, resulting in the naming of four then suspects—Earl Brooklyn, Tillman Belvin, Joseph Cox and Edward Spivey—all deceased. All four had had a long history with the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
, serving as officers in the
Orange County Klavern. Although members of the Klan were suspected of the crime, the people responsible were never brought to trial.
Irvin's second trial and later life
After recovering from his shooting wounds, Irvin was tried again after refusing a deal from the prosecutor and Governor
Fuller Warren
Fuller Warren (October 3, 1905September 23, 1973) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of Florida.
Early life and education
Born in Blountstown, Florida, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesvil ...
that would have spared him from a death sentence if he pleaded guilty. His defense counsel,
Thurgood Marshall
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...
, gained a change of venue to
Marion County, Florida
Marion County is a county located in the North Central region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 375,908. Its county seat is Ocala. Marion County comprises the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan S ...
, because of the extensive and adverse publicity around the case in Lake County. Marshall led the defense team from the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City.
LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...
. Irvin was again found guilty. Judge Futch, who was again presiding, sentenced him to death.
After
LeRoy Collins
Thomas LeRoy Collins (March 10, 1909 – March 12, 1991) was an American politician who served as the 33rd governor of Florida from 1955 to 1961. Collins began his governorship after winning a special election in 1954, and was elected to a fo ...
was elected governor in 1954, questions were raised to him about Irvin's case, because he was considered moderate. He reviewed it and in 1955 commuted Irvin's sentence to life in prison, stating that neither trial proved conclusively that Irvin was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Irvin was paroled in 1968. In 1969 he visited Lake County, where he was found dead in his car, officially of natural causes.
Greenlee paroled
Greenlee was paroled from prison in 1962. He moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, with his wife and their daughter Carole, who was born in 1950 (his wife was pregnant when he was arrested). They had a son, Thomas, in 1965.
[Katie Mettler, "‘We’re truly sorry’: Fla. apologizes for racial injustice of 1949 ‘Groveland Four’ rape case"](_blank)
''The Washington Post'', 19 April 2017; accessed 13 October 2018 Greenlee died on April 18, 2012,
[ "Charles L Greenlee", in U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014](_blank)
Ancestry.com; accessed 13 October 2018 but not before seeing Gilbert King's 2012 book about the case published.
Exoneration
In 2016 the Lake County Commission followed Groveland Mayor Tim Loucks in presenting the surviving families of the Groveland Four with a posthumous apology. Both Loucks and members of the Lake County Commission then began lobbying state lawmakers to do the same. Senator
Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, filed a proposed resolution (SCR 136) for consideration during the 2016 legislative session to clear the names of Greenlee, Irvin, Shepherd, and Thomas and note the "egregious wrongs" the criminal justice system perpetrated against them.
On April 18, 2017, the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
passed a resolution sponsored by State Representative
Bobby DuBose requesting exoneration for the four men and apologizing to their families for the injustice of the case. The Florida State Senate passed an identical resolution sponsored by Senator
Gary Farmer
Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian First Nations ( Cayuga) actor and musician. He is best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in '' Powwow Highway'' (1989), ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Smoke Signals'' (1998). ...
on April 27, 2017. The resolutions called on Governor
Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...
to expedite the process to grant posthumous pardons. Lawmakers also called on Scott to
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
the men.
On January 11, 2019, the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, with newly seated Governor
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...
at the helm, unanimously agreed to pardon the Groveland Four. "Seventy years is a long time", DeSantis said before taking office. "And that's the amount of time four young men have been wrongly written into Florida history for crimes they did not commit and punishments they did not deserve." Norma Padgett, then 86, speaking publicly about the case for the first time since 1952, attended the Clemency Board hearing to make a statement against exoneration, saying:
I'm beggin' y'all not to give them pardon because they done it. Your minds might be made up. I don't know. If you do, y'all going to be just like them, and that's all I got to say, 'cause I know I'm telling the truth. I went to court twice.
DeSantis issued the four men full posthumous pardons in 2019, but they were not exonerated by the state until 2021. After a motion submitted by State Attorney William M. Gladson,
Judge Heidi Davis granted the state's motion on November 22, 2021, to posthumously dismiss the indictments of Thomas and Shepherd and vacate the convictions of Greenlee and Irvin.
Padgett, who eventually moved to
Taylor County, Georgia
Taylor County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,816. The county seat and largest city is Butler.
History
Taylor County was created on January 15, 1852, by ...
, died on July 12, 2024.
See also
*
False accusations of rape as justification for lynchings
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argued two cases in Ocala with mention of ''Willis V. McCall'' Ocala History
John Hill, "A Southern sheriff's law and disorder" ''St. Petersburg Times''
T. Hobbs, ''"Hitler is Here": Lynching in Florida During the Era of World War II'' thesis, 2004
The Groveland Four (PBS documentary)
{{Authority control
Quantified groups of defendants
1949 crimes in the United States
20th-century American trials
1940s crimes in Florida
1949 in Florida
People who have received posthumous pardons
Lake County, Florida
Police brutality in the United States
American people wrongfully convicted of rape
African-American history of Florida
Deaths by firearm in Florida
History of African-American civil rights
History of civil rights in the United States
Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Florida
Riots and civil disorder in Florida
Trials in Florida
White American riots in the United States
White nationalism in Florida