Walter Woodward

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	9
Year Crime:	1933
Year Convicted:	1933
Year Cleared:	1942
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Florida
County or Region of Crime:	Broward
City of Crime:	Pompano Beach
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Four Black co-defendants: Isiah (Izell) Chambers, Charlie Davis, Jack Williamson, and Walter Woodward, were known as the "Pompano Boys." All four were convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the 1933 robbery and murder of an elderly white man, Robert Darsey (Darcy) in Pompano Beach, Florida. The defendants' convictions were based on the false confessions of the four young men after five days of physical torture and intense third-degree interrogation when they had no access to a lawyer. Only Chambers did not plead guilty and was convicted after a trial, but they were all sentenced to death. In the historic decision of Chambers v. State of Florida, 309 U.S. 227 (1940), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the four convictions on February 12, 1940. The four "Pompano Boys" were found not guilty in March 1942 and they were released after nine years of imprisonment."
Conviction Caused By:	False confessions extracted from the four young men after five days of physical torture and intense third-degree interrogation.
Innocence Proved By:	"In Chambers v. Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the four convictions on February 12, 1940, on the basis that their interrogations violated their right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. A month later the charges were dismissed and the four "Pompano Boys" were released after 7 years of imprisonment."
Defendant Aided By:	Civil rights lawyer S.D. McGill won six reversals of the four defendant's convictions six times before their eventual release in 1942.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Chambers v. State of Florida, 309 U.S. 227 (1940)"
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Information Source 2:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 104+."
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Information Source 3:	"African Americans in Florida: An Illustrated History, By Maxine D. Jones, Kevin M. McCarthy (Pineapple Pr (October 1, 1993))"
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Walter Woodward

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

9

Year Crime:

1933

Year Convicted:

1933

Year Cleared:

1942

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Florida

County or Region of Crime:

Broward

City of Crime:

Pompano Beach

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confessions extracted from the four young men after five days of physical torture and intense third-degree interrogation.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Civil rights lawyer S.D. McGill won six reversals of the four defendant's convictions six times before their eventual release in 1942.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Chambers v. State of Florida, 309 U.S. 227 (1940)"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 104+."

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"African Americans in Florida: An Illustrated History, By Maxine D. Jones, Kevin M. McCarthy (Pineapple Pr (October 1, 1993))"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: