Seven black men were executed for alleged rape in 1951. Decades later they were exonerated

(CNN) – A group of young black men executed after being convicted by all-white juries for the alleged rape of a white woman were pardoned in Virginia 70 years after their death.
This Tuesday, Governor Ralph Northam granted posthumous clemency to the “Martinsville Seven.”

“While these pardons do not address the guilt of the seven, they serve as an acknowledgment by the Commonwealth that these men were tried without proper due process and received a racially biased death sentence that was not similarly applied to white defendants.” Northam’s office said Tuesday.

“We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equitable, and fulfills its role, no matter who you are or what you look like. I am grateful to the advocates and families of the Martinsville Seven for their dedication and perseverance.”

In this file photo from Jan.30, 1951, protesters march in front of the White House in Washington, in what they said was an effort to persuade President Harry Truman to stop the execution of the seven men.
(AP Photo / Henry Burroughs)

Family members of the seven men said that their relatives were interrogated under pressure, without the presence of a lawyer, and that their confessions were coerced under the threat of violence.

The “Martinsville Seven” were found guilty of raping Ruby Stroud Floyd, 32, who had come to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on January 8, 1949, to collect money from the clothes she had sold.

Four of the men were executed in Virginia’s electric chair on February 2, 1951. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted. At that time, rape was a crime punishable by death.

This Tuesday, Northam met with the men’s descendants and signed the pardons for: Francis DeSales Grayson, 37; Booker T. Millner, 19; Frank Hairston Jr., 19; Howard Lee Hairston, 18; James Luther Hairston, 20; Joe Henry Hampton, 19; and John Claybon Taylor, 21.

Family and friends of the Martinsville Seven, from left, Rose Grayson, Faye Holland, Ron McCollum, James Grayson, Pamela Hairston and Rudy McCollum, pose for a photo before Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signs the posthumous pardons Tuesday.
(AP Photo / Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown).

Since last year, the Martinsville 7 Coalition, which includes family members and community advocates, has been pushing for posthumous clemency, according to WWBT, CNN affiliate.

“They did not deserve to die. Governor Northam should present an apology to the families of these seven men, stating that they should not have been executed,” said James Grayson, son of Francis DeSales Grayson. “It is never too late to correct a mistake.”

During the ceremony, the relatives they described the devastation of hasty trials and the brutal legacy of the electric chair.

“I was traumatized by this incident,” said Curtis Millner, who was 9 when his cousin Booker T. Millner was executed. “I’m looking for closure,” he added.

Before abolishing the death penalty earlier this year, Virginia had executed more people than any other state, and studies have shown that a defendant is more than three times more likely to be sentenced to death if the victim of a crime it is white than if the victim is black. From 1908 to 1951, the 45 prisoners executed for rape in Virginia were black men. In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled that imposing the death penalty for rape was cruel and unusual punishment.

“Although we cannot change the past, I hope today’s action will bring you a small measure of peace,” Northam said.
These last pardons represent the 604th pardon of the governor of Virginia since taking office.