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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
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Years Imprisoned: |
19 |
Year Crime: |
1949 |
Year Convicted: |
1949 |
Year Cleared: |
2019 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Florida |
County or Region of Crime: |
Lake |
City of Crime: |
Groveland |
Result: |
Pardoned Posthumously |
Summary of Case: |
"Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin and Samuel Shepherd were codefendants wrongly convicted of raping 17-year-old Norma Padgett near Groveland, Lake County, Florida on July 16, 1949. Padgett and her husband told police that their car broke down and four blacks stopped, claiming to want to help. They said the men then took turns raping Padgett while holding her husband down. The fourth alleged rapist, 26-year-old Ernest Thomas, was never tried, because he fled Lake County when he heard the police were looking for him, and on July 26, 1949 he was shot to death 180 miles away by a posse that pursued him into a wooded area (Thomas was struck by more than 100 bullets). Towns people in Groveland suspected the Padgett's account was a fabrication to cover-up that her visible injuries were caused by him beating her. The prosecution of Greenlee, Irvin and Shepherd was solely based on the testimony of the alleged victim and her husband. The 16-year-old Greenlee, who had only arrived in town the day earlier to pick fruit, confessed to the rape after being beaten by Lake County sheriff deputies. Irvin and Shepherd were close friends who told police that on the day of the alleged rape they were in Orlando, 31 miles from Groveland. Irvin and Shepherd were both Army veterans, and Shepherd family had lived in Groveland for many years. After being beaten by the police, Shepherd confessed to the rape, but Irvin, also beaten, refused to confess. After their convictions by a jury, Greenlee was sentenced to life in prison, while Irvin and Shepherd were sentenced to death. Irvin and Shepherd appealed their convictions, which were affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted their case, and in 1951 unanimously overturned their convictions. In the majority opinion Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote: “This case presents one of the best examples of one of the worst menaces to American justice.” While Irvin and Shepherd were being transported from prison to Lake County for their retrial, they were shot by Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall who said they tried to overpower him when he stopped to check a tire. Irvin was wounded, but Shepherd was killed. After the shooting Irvin's retrial was moved to Marion County and he was defended by well-known black civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall, who later became a U.S. Supreme Court justice. However, based on the testimony of Padgett Irvin was again convicted, and again sentenced to death. Irvin was granted a last-minute stay of execution in 1954 by Florida Governor LeRoy Collins, and his sentence was commutted to life in prison. Irvin was paroled in January 1968 without ever admitting any involvement in Padgett's alleged rape. Greenlee had been released on parole in 1962. Irvin was found dead in his car in 1969, of an apparent heart attack. Greenlee was 78 when he died of natural causes in 2012. In 2012 Gilbert King's book "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America" (Haper Perennial), was published. King found evidence in FBI files that the doctor who examined Padgett the day she reported being raped found no evidence she had been raped. He also found evidence sheriff deputies fabricated shoeprint evidence to implicate the defendants. In 2015 student Josh Venkataraman read King's book in a college history class. He started an online petition called "Exonerate the Groveland Four." In 2016 the City of Groveland and Lake County formally issued a posthumous apology to the four men. In 2017 the Florida House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing to the four men. In 2017 Venkataraman filed a formal pardon application. On January 11, 2020 the Florida Clemency Board chaired by Governor Ron De Santis voted unanimously to pardon Greenlee, Irvin, Shapherd and Thomas (although he had not been convicted). The pardons were based on the strong evidence of the unfairness of the men's treatment before and during their prosecutions. Governor Santis made a statement: "I believe in the principles of the Constitution. I believe in getting a fair shake. I don't think there's any way that you can look at this case and see justice was carried out."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 11, 2020 the Florida Clemency Board chaired by Governor Ron De Santis voted unanimously to pardon Greenlee, Irvin, Shapherd and Thomas (although he had not been convicted). The pardons were based on the strong evidence of the unfairness of the men's treatment before and during their prosecutions. Governor Santis made a statement: "I believe in the principles of the Constitution. I believe in getting a fair shake. I don't think there's any way that you can look at this case and see justice was carried out."" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
22 |
Age When Released: |
41 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Florida pardons Groveland Four: ‘This was a miscarriage of justice’, By Samantha J. Gross, Tampa Bay Times, January 11, 2019" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/01/11/florida-pardons-groveland-four-this-was-a-miscarriage-of-justice/ |
Information Source 2: |
" After nearly 70 years, Florida Clemency Board pardons Groveland Four, By Samantha J. Gross, Miami Herald, January 11, 2019" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-nearly-70-years-florida-clemency-board-pardons-groveland-four/ar-BBS7lW6?OCID=ansmsnnews11 |
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Book About Case: |
""Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America," By Gilbert King (2012) (Haper Perennial)" |
Book Information: |
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Book About Case (2): |
""The Groveland Four: The Sad Saga of a Legal Lynching," by Gary Corsair (AuthorHouse, 2004)" |
Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org