Willie Thomas Massey

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Charge:	Trespassing
Sentence:	30 days in jail or a $100 fine
Years Imprisoned:	0.083
Year Crime:	1961
Year Convicted:	1961
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	North Carolina
County or Region of Crime:	York
City of Crime:	Rock Hill
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Thomas Walter Gaither, Clarence H. Graham, Willie Thomas "Dub" Massey, William "Willie" Edward McCleod, Robert L. McCullough, James Frank Wells, David Williamson Jr., John Alexander Gaines, Mack C. Workman, and Charles E. Taylor were black codefendants wrongly convicted on February 1, 1961 of trespassing for refusing to leave a "whites" only lunch counter at McCrory’s variety store in downtown Rock Hill, SC on January 31, 1961. Gaither was a civil rights organizer, and the other nine were students at Friendship Junior College. Each was sentenced to 30 days in jail or payment of a $100 fine. All served 30 days in jail except for Taylor, who allowed the NAACP to pay his fine so he wouldn't lose his college scholarship. On January 28, 2015 their convictions were vacated and the charges dismissed with prejudiced in Rock Hill City Municipal Court by Circuit Court Judge John C. Hayes III who wrote in his order, “(The Friendship Nine) were prosecuted solely based on their race...Such prosecution is on its face unjust under any definition.”"
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On January 28, 2015 their convictions were vacated and the charges dismissed with prejudiced by Rock Hill City Municipal Court Judge John C. Hayes. Judge Hayes wrote in his order, “(The Friendship Nine) were prosecuted solely based on their race...Such prosecution is on its face unjust under any definition.”"
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"State of South Carolina v. Charles E. Taylor et al., No. 1961-407 thru 416 AND 1961 469-472 (Rock Hill City Municipal Court), January 26, 2015 (Motion To Vacate Convictions)"
Information Location 1:	http://media.heraldonline.com/smedia/2015/01/26/11/38/t3N4t.So.6.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Judge tosses out ‘unjust’ Friendship Nine convictions in Rock Hill courtroom, By Rachel Southmayd, The Island Packet, January 28, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.islandpacket.com/2015/01/28/3561850/judge-rules-to-vacate-unjust-friendship.html
Information Source 3:	"Never felt guilty': Civil rights convictions tossed in SC, By Mitch Weiss (Associated Press), The State (Columbia, SC), January 28, 2015"
Information Location 3:	http://www.thestate.com/2015/01/28/3954587_famed-sc-civil-rights-protesters.html?rh=1
Information Source 4:	"Court to toss Friendship Nine's convictions for sit-in protests, By Devon M. Sayers, CNN, January 27, 2015"
Information Location 4:	http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/27/us/south-carolina-friendship-nine-sit-in-convictions/
Information Source 5:	"Rock Hill & Charlotte Sit-ins, By J. Charles Jones, www.crmvet.org"
Information Location 5:	http://www.crmvet.org/info/rockhill.htm
Book About Case:	"No Fear For Freedom: The Story of the Friendship 9," By Kimberly P. Johnson (Frown-Free Publications, March 1, 2014"
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Willie Thomas Massey

Charge:

Trespassing

Sentence:

30 days in jail or a $100 fine

Years Imprisoned:

0.083

Year Crime:

1961

Year Convicted:

1961

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

North Carolina

County or Region of Crime:

York

City of Crime:

Rock Hill

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"State of South Carolina v. Charles E. Taylor et al., No. 1961-407 thru 416 AND 1961 469-472 (Rock Hill City Municipal Court), January 26, 2015 (Motion To Vacate Convictions)"

Information Location 1:

http://media.heraldonline.com/smedia/2015/01/26/11/38/t3N4t.So.6.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Judge tosses out ‘unjust’ Friendship Nine convictions in Rock Hill courtroom, By Rachel Southmayd, The Island Packet, January 28, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.islandpacket.com/2015/01/28/3561850/judge-rules-to-vacate-unjust-friendship.html

Information Source 3:

"Never felt guilty': Civil rights convictions tossed in SC, By Mitch Weiss (Associated Press), The State (Columbia, SC), January 28, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://www.thestate.com/2015/01/28/3954587_famed-sc-civil-rights-protesters.html?rh=1

Information Source 4:

"Court to toss Friendship Nine's convictions for sit-in protests, By Devon M. Sayers, CNN, January 27, 2015"

Information Location 4:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/27/us/south-carolina-friendship-nine-sit-in-convictions/

Information Source 5:

"Rock Hill & Charlotte Sit-ins, By J. Charles Jones, www.crmvet.org"

Information Location 5:

http://www.crmvet.org/info/rockhill.htm

Book About Case:

"No Fear For Freedom: The Story of the Friendship 9," By Kimberly P. Johnson (Frown-Free Publications, March 1, 2014"

Book Information:

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