The Court of Appeals upheld the rulings on March 13, 1950, with Chief Justice Edward W. Hudgins writing: "one can hardly conceive of a more atrocious, a more beastly crime". The prosecution, led by Irvin W. Cubine, introduced evidence showing that non-consensual sex took place. Previous actions by civil rights attorneys had resulted in changes in the Virginia process, improving their procedures. Four of the men testified in their own defence. In their first appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1950, the lawyers argued among other things that the death sentence for rape in Virginia was reserved for blacks. [2], Rise says that the white community disdained Ruby Floyd for her missionary work with the Jehovah's Witnesses and for her willingness to enter the black part of Martinsville. Verify and try again. The judge presiding was Kennon C. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. All admitted to being present at the crime, including Joe Hampton, although not all took part in rape. At age 37, World War II veteran Francis DeSales Grayson was the oldest of the defendants. Racism was less explicit in the trial than in cases known as "legal lynchings" in the South, in which innocent men were convicted (e.g., the Scottsboro Boys, Willie McGee), and the Groveland Boys. In December, advocates and descendants of the men asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons. Execution of black teen in 1944 shouldn't have occurred, U.S. judge rules, Man freed from prison, over racial bias in jury selection, will not face 7th murder trial, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. [2], Judge Kennon Whittle told the attorneys: "this case must and will be tried in such a way as not to disturb the kindly feeling now, locally, existing between the races. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. 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. The remaining three were executed on February 5, 1951. Virginia Gov. It was the largest mass execution for rape that had been reported in the United States. Floyd identified Grayson and Hampton as her rapists but struggled to identify the others because the attack happened at night. The preliminary hearing occurred about a month later, and the grand jury two months after that. Mrs. Thurman B. Towill, of Governor Battle's office, looks at stacks of protest letters regarding the Martinsville Seven case. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. "The Martinsville Seven were not given adequate due process 'simply for being black,' they were sentenced to death for a crime that a white person would not have been executed for 'simply for being black,' and they were killed, by the Commonwealth, 'simply for being black,' " the advocates wrote in their letter to Northam. %privacy_policy%. Their trials and the electrocutions became a cause clbre similar to the Scottsboro Case of the 1930s. The Civil Rights Congress pickets the White House February 1, 1951 demanding President Harry Truman stop the execution of the Martinsville 7 seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia. "No one believed they should get off free " she said. [8] Since Virginia started using an electric chair in 1908, all 45 of the men sentenced to death for rape had been black men convicted of raping white women. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. In December, advocates and descendants of the men asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons. In March, Northam, a Democrat, signed legislation passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature abolishing the state's death penalty. The last was Grayson, 38, who was pronounced dead at 8:15 that morning. In Richmond, more than 200 people, most wearing black armbands, marched to Capitol Square from a memorial meeting at Third Street Bethel AME Church. On 8 January 1949, 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd was out collecting money for some clothes she had recently sold. Martin and his uncle later testified that the uncle warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark. The "Martinsville Seven" were convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, who had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money . Martin A. Martin of the Richmond law firm Hill, Martin and Robinson, was the lead attorney for the appellate defense team for the NAACP in Virginia, as his firm had considerable experience with civil rights cases. "They won't discuss that at all," she said. Ralph Northam, left, looks over the. Use code: FLICKR10. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. [1] On August 31, 2021, the Governor of Virginia pardoned the convictions of all seven men, 70 years after their deaths. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Since they ranged widely in experience, he asked the more experienced ones to aid the newer attorneys. All of them were tried by all-White juries. At the time of their arrest, all but one was between the ages of 20 and 23. All 45 men executed in Virginias electric chair in 1951 for the crime of rape were black men convicted of assaulting white women. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. GREAT NEWS! Add to your scrapbook. Another, from China, called the sentence a "barbaric" example of American "fascist hooliganism". 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. 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.". The campaign included picket lines, a demonstration by hundreds rallying in Richmond to try to persuade Gov. [2] The NAACP did not want the CRC to participate in the litigation directly. When she and the boy returned, Hampton said he grabbed her and the others joined in the assault, according to his confession. The original trial records, including hundreds of pages of transcripts, are on file at the Martinsville Circuit Court clerk's office. [8][16], On August 31, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam posthumously pardoned all seven men. She was emotionally upset, said the doctor, her underclothing was missing and her coat, dress and slip were "extremely dirty.". [2] A relative of the Hairstons has said that their family tradition always said that Floyd had been having an affair with one of the defendants, but this was not explored at trial. "A white lady and a little colored boy came by and the lady asked where Ruth Pettie lived we all planned to get her when she came back.". Northam has now granted a total of 604 pardons since taking office in 2018, more than the previous nine governors combined, his administration announced Tuesday. 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. "[6], In December 2020, the Martinsville 7 Project asked Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to pardon the Martinsville Seven posthumously and issue an apology. The image is an auction find. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. All seven men signed statements admitting they were present during the attack, but they had no access to their parents or attorneys at the time, Rise said. Four of the Martinsville Seven were electrocuted on February 2, 1951. The image is a Civil Rights Congress flyer for a rally in New York City in 1950. Year should not be greater than current year. The CRC focused on producing pamphlets and publicity for outside campaigns to raise awareness about the case, including internationally, and hoped to put pressure on government officials. And will be dearly missed by family, friends, and everyone. Joe Hampton, 19, and three others took turns raping Ruby Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman. Records unavailable at the time of the Martinsville Seven appeals show that from 1626 until 1908, at least three whites and 99 blacks were hanged for rape or attempted rape in Virginia. Eric W. Rise, author of "The Martinsville Seven, Race, Rape and Capital Punishment" and a professor of criminal justice at the University of Delaware, said prospective black jurors were excused for expressing reservations about the death penalty or struck by prosecutors. The mass executions were the largest in Virginia in modern times. Rise said two men said they had consensual sex with her, one man denied any involvement, and another man said he was so intoxicated he could not remember what happened. "I won't talk about that," Martin said. "It is worthy of note that none of the defendants claimed that promises or threats were made by anyone before the confessions were signed," he wrote. Only one of the accused had a prior criminal record, and most of the men were employed. Within hours, they admitted to having "sex" with Floyd or admitted to watching their friends have intercourse with the thirty-two-year-old. Here's everything to know about the Martinsville Seven case: Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Cause of death Details of the circumstance surrounding our beloved, Ruby Stroud Floyddeath is not public yet, we will share more as we learn. August (1992): 461-490; Eric W. Rise, The Martinsville Seven: Race Rape and Capital Punishment (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995). Two of the men were tried together. "[2] The prosecution did not explicitly discuss race; it argued the case based on the "preservation of community stability, not the protection of southern womanly virtues,"[2] as had formerly been common. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Thanks for your help! "[17], National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, False accusations of rape as justification for lynchings, "These 7 Black Men Were Executed For An Alleged Rape. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Hundreds stayed in Richmond for a prayer vigil until the executions took place. As the final execution dates of Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, 1951, approached the governor's office was flooded with thousands of telegrams, including one from Moscow, asking that the men not be executed. 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. Washington and Lee University law professor David Bruck said that even if the trials were fair and the men guilty, "the idea that you could have a 45-to-nothing ratio and that does not prove anything tells you that this was simply a judicial system that was not prepared to do the right thing.". Their trials and the electrocutions became a cause clbre similar to the Scottsboro Case of the 1930s. 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. Virginias court system repeatedly rejected the NAACPs arguments and the US Supreme Court rejected the case twice without review. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. (Figures for 1949 are not available, but one-third of the 1,505 rape victims in the state in 2009 were black women. The remaining three were electrocuted on February 5. Residents warned her not to stay too long, noting the time as late afternoon. THIS is the harrowing moment vengeful villagers burned to death the alleged ringleader of a violent gang they say had been terrorising them for months. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Northam announced the pardons after meeting with about a dozen descendants of the men and their advocates. That appeal failed, too, however. She said that she had been raped at least 13 times. The Civil Rights Congress pickets the White House January 30, 1951 demanding President Harry Truman stop the execution of the Martinsville 7 seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia. This is a carousel with slides. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. The next morning, a Friday, 75 people were praying at the Capitol when several blocks away at the penitentiary on Spring Street, Department of Corrections records show that Hampton, 21, was seated in the electric chair at 8:04 a.m. After Virginia became a state and until the end of the Civil War, state law allowed only blacks to receive a death sentence for rape. He said none of the men had attorneys present while they were interrogated. The first four were executed at 15-minute intervals on February 2. After the convictions, the seven were represented by Richmond-area civil-rights lawyers Martin A. Martin, Samuel W. Tucker, Roland D. Ealey and Oliver W. Hill, and others. Northam said some of the defendants were impaired at the time of their arrests or unable to read confessions they signed. Ruby Stroud Floyd Obituary: In the loving memory of Ruby Stroud Floyd, we are saddened to inform you that Ruby Stroud Floyd, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. View Source. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? The low IQ low life disregard they are the biggest killers of themselves. It's even worse than that. ", She also asked, "How many black women have been raped in Virginia and nobody has ever been executed?" If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. 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 neighborhood in Martinsville . They should not have been executed," he added. From left to right: Booker T. Millner, Frank Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, Joe Henry Hampton, John Clabon Taylor, Francis DeSales Grayson, and James Luther Hairston. In his study on the case, Rise concluded that, "At a time when African-Americans were beginning to assert their civil rights vigorously, the executions provided a stark reminder of the harsh treatment reserved for blacks who violated Southern racial codes.". In Martinsville, the executions are no longer a common topic of conversation, but they remain on the minds of many African-Americans. Judge Kennon C. Whittle of the Martinsville Circuit Court granted requests to hold individual trials. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam's announcement. "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 validity of the confessions were one of the things their defence attorneys brought up at the trials," Rise said. New York, Today: On January 8, 1949, from the dingy negro slums of Martinville, Virginia, staggered attractive, dark-haired Mrs. Ruby Stroud Floyd (32), shouting that she . Share this memorial using social media sites or email. From 1908 when Virginia began using the electric chair to 1951, state records show that all 45 people executed for rape were Black, he said. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. The seven executed were Francis Grayson, James L. Hairston, John Claybon Taylor, Frank Hairston, Jr., Booker T. Millner, Howard Lee Hairston and Joe Henry Hampton. And, he asserts, it is "the most dramatic example of how the American judicial system has simply refused to face the facts about race and capital punishment.". A grand jury (which included both black and white members) indicted all the men. "The older people all know about it, and it's so hurtful that they don't really want to talk about it. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). There was an error deleting this problem. Though Governor William Tuck initially agreed to a stay during appellate litigation, by late July 1950, newly elected Governor John S. Battle refused to commute the men's sentences, saying he was horrified by the rapes. "This is about righting wrongs," Northam said. '", She said her grandmother, Josephine Grayson, now living in Maryland, "will not speak on that at all under (any) circumstances.". You can directly shop your flowers on Amazon. At the time, rape was a capital offence. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. "The Martinsville Seven were not given adequate due process 'simply for being black,' they were sentenced to death for a crime that a white person would not have been executed for 'simply for being black,' and they were killed, by the Commonwealth, 'simply for being black,'" the advocates wrote in their letter to Northam. Courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection Washington Post. / CBS/AP. But, none was selected for any of the seven juries, as the prosecutors rejected all of them on various grounds. In advance of a large planned CRC demonstration in the state capital, Governor Battle doubled the capital guard and alerted the state militia. According to historian Eric W. Rise, this case "demonstrated the power of the southern legal system to enforce codes of racial behavior."[2]. James Walter Grayson is the son of Francis DeSales Grayson, who was one of the seven. Learn more about managing a memorial . Doris Gravely, 80, of Martinsville, a first cousin of Joe Henry Hampton, the first of the seven executed, talked about the case in her living room last month. The campaign included picket lines, post cards and telegrams, a demonstration by hundreds rallying in Richmond to try to persuade Gov. Mrs. Ruby belonged to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville,. Any monthly plan. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. All but one man were in their early 20s. Niggers are HARDWIRED TO SELF-DESTRUCT . Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. 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 neighborhood in. To agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website the! 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