Previous actions by civil rights attorneys had resulted in changes in the Virginia process, improving their procedures. Persons: howard lee hairston, ruby stroud floyd , liz ryan, frank hairston, james grayson, annie hobson, booker t millner, john battle, mary wade, ruby floyd, james hairston, james luther hairston, frank hairston jr, joe henry hampton. *. Ralph Northam, left, looks over the. While Ruby Stroud Floyd was being treated in hospital after the alleged rape, police arrested six suspects, and two days later a seventh. From left to right: John Clabon Taylor, Joe Henry Hampton, Francis DeSales Grayson, Booker T. Millner, James Luther Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, and Frank Hairston. James Walter Grayson is the son of Francis DeSales Grayson, who was one of the seven. Try again later. Appeals to the Virginia and U.S. supreme courts followed but also failed. The trial transcripts show that on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd, the 32-year-old wife of a department-store manager, entered a black area of the city to collect money owed her by Ruth Pettie, a woman to whom she had sold clothing. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. Thank you, Lord," he said, as he wept while being embraced by two other descendants of the men. The original trial records, including hundreds of pages of transcripts, are on file at the Martinsville Circuit Court clerk's office. Within hours, they admitted to having "sex" with Floyd or admitted to watching their friends have intercourse with the thirty-two-year-old. "It's such a raw wound," said Naomi Hodge-Muse, president of the Martinsville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Martinsville 7, seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia are shown on a flyer published by the Civil Rights Congress in 1950. Smyth Jr., the penitentiary superintendent, wrote a succinct response: "No white person has ever been electrocuted in Virginia for the crime of rape; or attempted rape. The Seven were executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary in early February 1951. Four of the men testified in their own defence. Oh boo, fricking hoo look what they do to criminals in their Afreakan homeland. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. Each man was charged with rape and aiding and abetting rape both crimes punishable by death at the time. After a long legal battle led by the NAACP and a grassroots campaign led by the Civil Rights Congress, the seven were executed in 1951 on February 2nd and February 5th. 20072023 Blackpast.org. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly Black neighbourhood in. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. In December, advocates and descendants of the men asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons. The last was Grayson, 38, who was pronounced dead at 8:15 that morning. After the verdicts and sentencings, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals later rejected a racial-prejudice claim filed on behalf of the Martinsville Seven, ruling that sentences did not, "depend upon the race of the accused, but upon the circumstances, aggravation and enormity of the crime proven in each case." The photographer is unknown. The case attracted national newspaper coverage. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Independent Contractor (Newspaper Carrier), Virginia railroad union says safety concerns have been rising amid cost-saving moves, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office ends affiliation with Reelz TV show 'On Patrol: Live', Former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland dies after battling Alzheimer's. The Martinsville 7 were African-American young men accused of the rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd, on January 8, 1949 in Martinsville, Virginia. Most of the men were between 18 and 20 years old and worked as laborers in small-scale furniture factories and warehouses. Four of the Martinsville Seven were electrocuted on February 2, 1951. Ruby Stroud Floyd accused thirteen black men of raping her while she passed through a poor black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. For the first time, records were kept at a central location. "My daddy was Hampton's uncle," she said. The CRC in turn criticized the NAACP for its reliance on a legal strategy that had a dubious chance of success in a southern state where rigid Jim Crow was enforced. The low IQ low life disregard they are the biggest killers of themselves. Learn more about merges. Residents warned her not to stay too long, noting the time as late afternoon. What the Martinsville case lacked in legal import, it made up for politically by drawing national and worldwide attention to the death penalty as a civil-rights issue. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. In addition, each of the jury pools for the six separate trials contained some African Americans. In some cases, they said that the police had written the confessions, that the formal account varied from a handwritten version, and that they had not fully read the police version when signing and did not recognize that their own accounts had been changed. Despite the efforts put forth by the NAACP, four of the Martinsville Seven were electrocuted on February 2, 1951. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills at least 36, injures some 85, Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak, House select committee hearing paints China as a strategic antagonist, JetBlue flight forced to abort landing in close call at Logan Airport, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Bald eagle couple lays new egg after losing eaglets two years in a row, Supreme Court hears case on race and the death penalty. Though they varied somewhat in detail, the accounts of what happened that night from the perpetrators, the victim, Martin and other witnesses in large part agreed. Martinsville remained quiet. After a long legal battle led by the NAACP and a grassroots campaign led by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), the seven were executed in 1951 on February 2nd and February 5th. "Most of the time, the families, the people who were of age in that era, they talked about it in private homes, in churches and other places and always felt as though it was really a serious injustice. Year should not be greater than current year. [2] The men were executed in early February. The rapes occurred on Saturday, January 8, 1949, after Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman, entered a black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, to collect money for clothing she had sold. "I don't want to bring that up again.". "I think I touched a nerve. The young men were arrested, interrogated & charged with rape & attempted rape. NAACP officials focused national attention to the case, hoping to delay or overturn the death penalty judgment. Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. Since they ranged widely in experience, he asked the more experienced ones to aid the newer attorneys. On the evening of January 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 black men of raping her while she passed through a poor African American neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. For a PDF of this 8 x 11, one-sided, flyer, see washingtonspark.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/1950-11-08-ma For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsjWUExj5. 0 cemeteries found in Duplin County, North Carolina, USA. "These men were executed because they were Black, and that's not right," Northam said. The campaign included picket lines, post cards and telegrams, a demonstration by hundreds rallying in Richmond to try to persuade Gov. What makes the Justices so elite? Virginia Governor Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a White woman, in a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the use of the death penalty. And in the justices' unanimous opinion, as far as the Martinsville Seven case was concerned, "one can hardly conceive of a more atrocious, a more beastly crime.". Another, from China, called the sentence a "barbaric" example of American "fascist hooliganism". They argued for lesser sentences, but Battle resisted their pleas. Later, three other men, Francis DeSales Grayson, John Clabon Taylor and James Luther Hairston joined the other four in the assault, according to the confessions. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Four of the men were executed in Virginia's electric chair on February 2, 1951. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. The seven men, ranging in age from 18-37 years old, were arrested in 1949 for the reported rape of 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who lived in Martinsville. In 1866, the state legislature changed the law so that execution remained an option for both races in rape cases. On the stand, each of the defendants at least partially rejected his confession. The prosecution, led by Irvin W. Cubine, introduced evidence showing that non-consensual sex took place. Other demonstrations were held in Washington, D.C., New York and elsewhere in an attempt to convince President Harry S. Truman to interveneagain to no avail. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. 1 ranking in country. [2][13] The CRC began to organize mass actions in Richmond. All seven men were convicted and sentenced to death within eight days. Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time. A prosecutor asked him: "Charlie, do you know what happens to little boys who tell lies when they die?". Martin and the NAACP also agreed to represent the men in an appeal for the Seven with the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. [11], The case of the Martinsville Seven was taken up by outside groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Civil Rights Congress (CRC). All but one man were in their early 20s. It was the largest mass execution for rape that had been reported in the United States. NAACP lawyers argued on appeal that Virginias legal code was hardly race-neutral since whites convicted of rape seldom if ever received the death penalty. In December, advocates and descendants of the men asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons. "We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equal, and gets it right no matter who you are or what you look like," he said. All but one were young and single, and all were employed three in a sawmill, one a plasterer's helper, one a stonecutter and one a foundry man. A physician who treated Floyd after the attack testified that she suffered a swollen lip, scratches on the back of her neck, the back of her right chest and on her buttocks. The Martinsville 7 were seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia. 38, who was one of the defendants at least partially rejected confession... 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