[2] The men were executed in early February. They applied the bulk of the funds raised to the defense of clients. First published on August 31, 2021 / 3:17 PM. In Martinsville, the executions are no longer a common topic of conversation, but they remain on the minds of many African-Americans. You have permission to edit this article. The image is an auction find. Two days later, on Sunday, 100 people picketed the White House in Washington, and Josephine Grayson, wife of Francis Grayson, unsuccessfully sought to see President Harry S. Truman. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. They said that the men had been forced into confessing that they had raped Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman who had been visiting a predominantly Black section of Martinsville,. Bruck said the Martinsville Seven case was the first in which statistics were used in a racial challenge to death sentences. "This is about righting wrongs," Northam said. Two of the men were tried together. I'm grateful to the advocates and families of the Martinsville Seven for their dedication and perseverance. Your email address will not be published. ", Hodge-Muse says, "This community does not have a hateful attitude that would lend itself to violence that's not our culture, and I think it speaks well of the black and white community that we have never had that type of meanness.". MARTINSVILLE -- On April 19, 1949, Judge Kennon Whittle addressed prosecutors and defense lawyers gathered in his second-floor chambers of the Henry County courthouse. Thanks for your help! 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. Three worked in a sawmill, one was a plasterer's helper, one a stonecutter and one a foundry man. "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. The campaign included picket lines, a demonstration by hundreds rallying in Richmond to try to persuade Gov. Did You Know That Disney Released A Cartoon Featuring A Freed Slave As The Hero? Why the Crusade on the Martinsville Seven: 1950. washingtonspark.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/1950-11-08-ma Martinsville 7 They shall not die: 1950, Martinville 7, subject of death penalty protests, later executed: 1950, Demand No Execution of Martinsville 7: 1951. www.flickr.com/photos/washington_area_spark/sets/72157643 Afro Headlines Martinsville, Va. Mass Executions: 1951, Freezing pickets call for Martinsville 7 clemency: 1951. 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. 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. [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. The CRC also had organized an international campaign, and Governor Battle was swamped by letters from overseas asking him to commute the sentences of the men. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The low IQ low life disregard they are the biggest killers of themselves. 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. 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. The first man to die in Virginia's electric chair was Henry Smith, a black man who raped an elderly white woman. May you find comfort knowing that life continues forever in heaven even as the memories shared live forever in our hearts. A prosecutor asked him: "Charlie, do you know what happens to little boys who tell lies when they die?". Unanimous juries recommended death sentences at the end of each trial. It must be tried as though both parties were members of the same race. All they are celebrating is the dismantling of White laws, laws which have held . Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. 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. "They won't discuss that at all," she said. This legal argument of a discriminatory death penalty was denied by the courts at that time, but by 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court began to consider the effects of race on the death penalty. 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 . By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. The NAACP appeals also noted that since Virginia started use of the electric chair, only black men had been executed for rape in the state for what was a non-lethal crime. Our deepest condolences and heartfelt prayers are with the family and friends. Fired RPS employee sues school district, alleges misuse of federal funds. Other prosecution witnesses included Grayson's wife, Josephine, who also testified for the defense in some of the cases; a sister of one of the defendants; and a black woman who assisted Floyd after the attack. Martin and his uncle later testified that the uncle warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark. He is now in his 70s and lives just outside the city of Martinsville. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Julie Ditty Obituary Death: Julie DittyCause Of Death, Lara Loughlin Obituary Death: Lara LoughlinCause Of Death. Their petition does not argue that the men were innocent, but says their trials were unfair and the punishment was extreme and unjust. The Martinsville 7 were charged with the rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd, in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. The longest deliberations lasted less than two hours, Rise said. [8][16], On August 31, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam posthumously pardoned all seven men. She passed four men at the railroad tracks and continued into the neighborhood, where she was later assaulted by some of those four and other men. Another who believes the past is best left alone is Charlie Martin, the young boy who accompanied the victim and repeatedly testified at the trials. 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. And the real victim Ruby Stroud Floyd didnt even get a mention from those coon descendants of her rapists ! [6], No trial lasted more than a day, and the longest jury deliberation lasted less than two hours. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. There had been no threats of lynching before the trials and no disturbances after the executions. The last was Grayson, 38, who was pronounced dead at 8:15 that morning. The first four were executed at 15-minute intervals on February 2. Their petition does not argue that the men were innocent, but says their trials were unfair and the punishment was extreme and unjust. Four of the Martinsville Seven were electrocuted on February 2, 1951. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. 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 Martinsville 7 Project, according to their website, seeks to highlight the case, share their stories, collect and post records related to the case, and promote the pardon request. The attack occurred in Cherrytown, the black section of Martinsville. Though our words can do little, we hope our thoughts and prayers will encourage you this period and always as you mourn, the passing soul. But Hodge-Muse, Millner and others also believe that not all the facts came out during the trials and that there are many unanswered questions. *. "I was maybe 10 years old, and it was very, very, very hush-hush," he said. It has been stated by several residents of Martinsville, Virginia that Grayson and Floyd were in a sexual relationship. 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 Martinsville, Va., on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. They noted the assaults of Floyd had no evidence of homicidal intent. Use code: FLICKR10. Within hours . 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. 20072023 Blackpast.org. The young men were arrested, interrogated & charged with rape & attempted rape. Here are some dire statistics detailing the horrible "culture" of African Americans: nationwide, blacks are committing crimes at 7 times the rate of whites. "This was the Jim Crow South; this was prior to the civil-rights movement why would she be there," she asked. 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. 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. They should not have been executed," he added. When she and the boy returned, Hampton said he grabbed her and the others joined in the assault, according to his confession. 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.". 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. (Figures for 1949 are not available, but one-third of the 1,505 rape victims in the state in 2009 were black women. Defense lawyers argued that Floyd had consented to sexual intercourse by failing to forcibly resist the men and that the initial confessions were forced by the local sheriff. Virginias court system repeatedly rejected the NAACPs arguments and the US Supreme Court rejected the case twice without review. [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. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Two weeks after Whittle's warning, the Martinsville defendants were convicted and sentenced to join them. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years. August 31, 2021 / 3:17 PM Now they've been pardoned | CNN, Shocking moment thief is burned to death by villagers who say he led a violent gang. The appellate courts upheld the convictions and sentences, and the US Supreme Court twice refused to hear the cases. 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. Every single one of the 45 men executed by Virginias electric chair for the crime of rape at that point in time were African American men charged with assaulting white women. / CBS/AP. The Martinsville 7, seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia are shown in a group photograph while in prison in 1950. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. 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. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. Footage too graphic to publish shows the man . In a news release, Northam said the pardons were not about whether the men were guilty, but it was "recognition from the Commonwealth" that the men did not receive adequate due process. The image is a Civil Rights Congress flyer for a rally in New York City in 1950. The victim of the rape recounted in The Martinsville Seven was Ruby Stroud Floyd, a thirty-two year old housewife who had moved to Martinsville with her husband, Glenn Floyd, a department store manager, only four years prior to the attack. 7 Black men were executed for an alleged rape in 1951. based on information from your browser. The Martinsville 7 were seven African American men convicted of raping a white woman in 1949. 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. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The last to be arrested, Joe Hampton, was taken into custody on January 10. 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. The group of young men soon got the name The Martinsville Seven. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Blacks makeup 13% of the population but commit the majority of violent crimes in this country. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The pardons do not address the guilt or innocence of the men, but Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that they did not receive due process and received a "racially-biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants.". The night of Feb. 1, 1951, hundreds of people of both races gathered at the state Capitol to pray. Do I see a pattern here? 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