John Snowden

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Death and Executed
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1917
Year Convicted:	1919
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Maryland
County or Region of Crime:	Anne Arundel
City of Crime:	Annapolis
Result:	Pardoned Posthumously After Execution
Summary of Case:	"John Snowden was wrongly convicted of first-degree murder on January 31, 1918 of the murder of Lottie May Brandon in her home in Annapolis, Maryland on August 8, 1917. Snowden made his living delivering ice in Annapolis. Snowden was charged with murder based on the statements of several witnesses that he resembled a black man seen near the Brandon hom on the day of the murder. After Snowden's conviction by an all white jury that deliberated for 20 minutes, he was sentenced to death. Affter his appeals were denied he was executed on February 28, 1919. As he was being led to the gallows Snowden was given one last chance to confess to the murder, but said "I could not leave this world with a lie in my mouth." Shortly after Snowden's execution an anonymous writer sent letters to the Evening Capital newspaper and the Anne Arundel County Sheriff, claiming responsibility for the killing. On May 31, 2001 Maryland's Governor Parris N. Glendening determined that Snowden's execution "may well have been a miscarriage of justice" - and granted him a posthumous pardon."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On May 31, 2001 Maryland's Governor Parris N. Glendening determined that Snowden's execution "may well have been a miscarriage of justice" - and granted him a posthumous pardon."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	28
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Governor pardons Black man in 1919 murder, By Jay Apperson and Andrea F. Siegel, The Baltimore Sun, June 1, 2001"
Information Location 1:	"http://www.baltimoresun.com/bv-snowden010604,0,87902.story"
Information Source 2:	"John Snowden (1890-1919), Maryland State Archives (Biographical Series), MSA SC 3520-13632"
Information Location 2:	http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013600/013632/html/13632bio.html
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John Snowden

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Death and Executed

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1917

Year Convicted:

1919

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Maryland

County or Region of Crime:

Anne Arundel

City of Crime:

Annapolis

Result:

Pardoned Posthumously After Execution

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On May 31, 2001 Maryland's Governor Parris N. Glendening determined that Snowden's execution "may well have been a miscarriage of justice" - and granted him a posthumous pardon."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

28

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Governor pardons Black man in 1919 murder, By Jay Apperson and Andrea F. Siegel, The Baltimore Sun, June 1, 2001"

Information Location 1:

"http://www.baltimoresun.com/bv-snowden010604,0,87902.story"

Information Source 2:

"John Snowden (1890-1919), Maryland State Archives (Biographical Series), MSA SC 3520-13632"

Information Location 2:

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013600/013632/html/13632bio.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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