In Groveland, Florida, white teenager Norma Padgett accused four black men (Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Walter Irvin) of kidnapping and raping her 70 years ago. Two of them would be shot dead by the segregationist sheriff and an angry mob, and the other two were convicted quickly despite a lack of evidence. The case of the Groveland Four has been considered known as one of Florida’s greatest injustices and symbols of racism. During recent investigation of the case, there was evidence that Padgett had perjured documents and there was no physical evidence of rape. Also the investigation found that the sheriff’s office “fabricated footprint evidence that supposedly linked the men to the crime scene.” In 2017, Florida formally apologized for what happened, and on Friday, the state’s clemency board voted unanimously to pardon the men.
It is horrible that Florida just now decided to “pardon” these men. Honestly they should be getting exonerated because they did not commit a crime. The hearing for the reinvestigation of this trial was delayed for almost two years. I feel for the families of the Groveland Four. I also pity the sheriff and others involved in the trial. I can't imagine hating someone because of their race, let alone hating them enough to frame them for rape. One of the Four was sentenced to death originally and the other was given a life sentence in jail (if that gives any perspective). This is eerily similar to the Sacco and Venzetti case. Anyways, I don't have many words to say for such a blatant lack of care for justice now and back then.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/history/2019/01/11/years-after-miscarriage-justice-florida-pardons-four-black-men-accused-rape-by-white-woman/
Being charged of a crime that you do not commit is something that should not happen in the United States. I cannot imagine what these families went through and hope that this can be prevented from happening to others in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's really upsetting to know that stuff like this is still going on today. The criminal justice system has been set up to target black people. In addition, those men's lives have been ruined. How can they make up all those years lost just because they were falsely accused? It's horrible to think about.
ReplyDeleteI agree! It is disappointing to know that these battles are still occurring in our country. These innocent people were exposed to the punishment and cruelty, that they did not deserve, and they lost much time-- and all they got was a simple "pardon"
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