Medgar Evers

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Charge:	Criminal Contempt
Sentence:	30 days in the county jail and pay a fine of $100.
Years Imprisoned:	0.08
Year Crime:	1960
Year Convicted:	1960
Year Cleared:	1961
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Mississippi
County or Region of Crime:	Forrest
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Medgar Evers was wrongly convicted in 1960 of criminal contempt after Clyde Kennard was convicted on November 21, 1960, of burglary in Forrest County, Mississippi of burglary. Evers who had worked with Kennard in the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP, was quoted in the "Hattiesburg" American" newspaper as saying after Kennard's conviction. "The greatest mockery (to judicial) justice took place Monday, Nov. 21 in the Forrest County courthouse when despite the overwhelming evidence in Clyde Kennard's favor, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in the state penitentiary for alleged burglary. In a court room of segregationists apparently resolved to put Kennard `legally away', the all-white jury found Kennard guilty as charged in only 10 minutes." Evers v State, 241 Miss. 560, para 41-42. The Forest County prosecutor filed a contempt of court charge against Evers on November 25, 1960, and a hearing was held on December 2, 1960. Evers was found guilty and sentenced to serve 30 days in the county jail and pay a fine of $100. 'Supreme Court of Mississippi vacated Kennard's conviction on June 12, 1961, on the basis that his comments were protected by his right to freedom of speech."
Conviction Caused By:	Racist judge took offense at Medgar Evers public remarks that Clyde Kennard had been railroaded on a trumped up burglary charge in the judge's courtroom.
Innocence Proved By:	"Supreme Court of Mississippi vacated Kennard's conviction on June 12, 1961."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Evers v. State, 241 Miss. 560 (Miss.06/12/1961)"
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Medgar Evers

Charge:

Criminal Contempt

Sentence:

30 days in the county jail and pay a fine of $100.

Years Imprisoned:

0.08

Year Crime:

1960

Year Convicted:

1960

Year Cleared:

1961

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Mississippi

County or Region of Crime:

Forrest

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Racist judge took offense at Medgar Evers public remarks that Clyde Kennard had been railroaded on a trumped up burglary charge in the judge's courtroom.

Innocence Proved By:

"Supreme Court of Mississippi vacated Kennard's conviction on June 12, 1961."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Evers v. State, 241 Miss. 560 (Miss.06/12/1961)"

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Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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