COPYRIGHT (C) 2017 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - BLACK THEN A grand jury (which included both black and white members) indicted all the men. According to historian Eric W. Rise, this case "demonstrated the power of the southern legal system to enforce codes of racial behavior."[2]. The juries were all white and all male. On January 30, 1951, 400 protesters arrived in Richmond, appealing to Battle on the issue of racial disparity in sentencing. Prospective jurors in each trial included some blacks, but all 72 jurors selected to try the cases were white. For example, although most African Americans in Virginia had been disenfranchised since the early 20th century and were thus disqualified from serving on juries, the grand jury had included black members. Do I see a pattern here? It was the largest group of people executed for a single-victim crime in Virginia's history. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Floyd's husband, a local store manager, said she. Two weeks after Whittle's warning, the Martinsville defendants were convicted and sentenced to join them. The judge ruled that there was no evidence that discrimination was involved in imposing the Martinsville death sentences. At the time of their arrest, all but one were between the ages of 18 and 23. After a long legal battle led by the NAACP and a grassroots campaign led by the Civil Rights Congress, the seven were executed in 1951 on February 2nd and February 5th. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Here are some dire statistics detailing the horrible "culture" of African Americans: nationwide, blacks are committing crimes at 7 times the rate of whites. Add to your scrapbook. "This is about righting wrongs," Northam said. Make sure that the file is a photo. W.F. He wept when Northam announced he would pardon the men. "Thank you, Jesus. John S. Battle to grant clemency to no avail. [8] The day before the youngest of the seven was executed, he said, "God knows I didn't touch that woman and I'll see y'all on the other side. Four of the men testified in their own defence. In denying appeals to commute the Martinsville 7 death sentences, Virginias Governor John S. Battle said, that the wave of messages that flooded his desks was cosponsored by the Civil Rights Congress and the Communist Party. Ruby Stroud Floyd obituary is not public at the time, we will share more as we learn about the obituary and possibly the funeral. This account has been disabled. This was objected to by the NAACP, who feared further backlash because of the CRC's Communist affiliations. "I am not excusing rape. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. All they are celebrating is the dismantling of White laws, laws which have held . From left to right: John Clabon Taylor, Joe Henry Hampton, Francis DeSales Grayson, Booker T. Millner, James Luther Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, and Frank Hairston. They applied the bulk of the funds raised to the defense of clients. There was an error deleting this problem. While we can't change the past, I hope today's action brings them some small measure of peace. Grayson said he was 4 years old when his father was executed. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Ruby Stroud Floyd accused thirteen black men of raping her while she passed through a poor black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. The Seven were executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary in early February 1951. All admitted to being present at the crime, including Joe Hampton, although not all took part in rape. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. northern cricket league professionals; breaux bridge jail inmates; virtualbox ubuntu failed to start snap daemon; len and brenda credlin "But we don't really know what happened.". James Walter Grayson is the son of Francis DeSales Grayson, who was one of the seven. Ruby Stroud Floyd always brought light to every room entered. Privacy, I Saw Black Spirits & White Spirits Engaged In Battle: The Confessions Of Nat Turner, Black Thens Chocolate Scoop Submit A Scoop-Worthy Story. You must log in or register to reply here. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Though Governor William Tuck initially agreed to a stay during appellate litigation, by late July 1950, newly elected Governor John S. Battle refused to commute the men's sentences, saying he was horrified by the rapes. All seven men were convicted and sentenced to death within eight days. Floyd identified Grayson and Hampton as her rapists but struggled to identify the others because the attack happened at night. The case of the Martinsville Seven was cited during the legislative debate as an example of the disproportionate use of the death penalty against people of color. At a hospital where she was examined for internal injuries, she told police that a group of black men raped her. Floyd identified two of her rapists as Grayson and Hampton, but she could not identify the others. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Blacks makeup 13% of the population but commit the majority of violent crimes in this country. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Based on their confessions, the police arrested: The judge appointed seven attorneys for the seven defendants. In December, advocates and descendants of the men asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons. August 31, 2021 / 3:17 PM Eric W, Rise, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who wrote a 1995 book on the case,The Martinsville Seven: Race, Rape, and Capital Punishment,said Floyd told police she was raped by a large group of Black men and testified at all six trials. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam's announcement. Save to. She said her father, her uncle and Hampton's brother visited Hampton at the jail while he was awaiting trial and that Hampton told them they were making him sleep on the cement floor without clothes. On the evening of January 8, 1949, a 32-year-old White woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 Black men of raping her while she had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville . cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Listen to these niggers holding up seven rapists as though they were victims of some kind ! Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman, in a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the use of the death penalty. Please login and add some widgets to this sidebar. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. Martin and his uncle later testified that the uncle warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark. And the real victim Ruby Stroud Floyd didnt even get a mention from those coon descendants of her rapists ! This browser does not support getting your location. The seven men, most in their late teens or early 20s, were: Grayson, Millner, Frank Hairston Jr.; Howard Lee Hairston; James Luther Hairston; Joe Henry Hampton; and John Clabon Taylor. '", She said her grandmother, Josephine Grayson, now living in Maryland, "will not speak on that at all under (any) circumstances.". Now, They Have Been Pardoned", A Year of History: Martinsville Seven executions remain 'a raw wound' for many, "Seeking Justice For The Martinsville Seven", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martinsville_Seven&oldid=1137887829, Frank Hairston Jr., age 20, confessed to rape, Booker T. Millner, age 22, said he was present, but did not take part. The seven men, most in their late teens or early 20s, were: Grayson, Frank Hairston Jr.; Howard Lee Hairston; James Luther Hairston; Joe Henry Hampton; Booker Millner; and John Clabon Taylor. "Booker T. gave the little colored boy a quarter and told him to go (away)," Hampton told police. Joe Hampton, 19, and three others took turns raping Ruby Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman. All Rights Reserved. At the time, all 45 men executed for rape in Virginia since the state began using the electric chair in 1908 were blacks convicted of attacking white women. Please join us to mourn the passing of Ruby Stroud Floyd. In their first appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1950, the lawyers argued among other things that the death sentence for rape in Virginia was reserved for blacks. Sorry! Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. "A white lady and a little colored boy came by and the lady asked where Ruth Pettie lived we all planned to get her when she came back.". They said that the men had been forced into confessing that they had raped Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman who had been visiting a predominantly Black section of Martinsville,. Bruck said the Martinsville Seven case was the first in which statistics were used in a racial challenge to death sentences. Their petition does not argue that the men were innocent, but says their trials were unfair and the punishment was extreme and unjust. Thanks for your help! Oops, something didn't work. The night of Feb. 1, 1951, hundreds of people of both races gathered at the state Capitol to pray. [9][10] An editorial in New York's Amsterdam News read, When we consider the fact that in the entire history of the Old Dominion state, no white man has ever received capital punishment for rape, then of necessity we must conclude that the death penalty for seven men for a singular crime was neither righteous, nor compassionate, nor wise. All six juries convicted the young men of rape and recommended the death penalty. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted. . The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville . By Tamantha / 08.31.2021 Photo: AFP via Getty Images Verify and try again. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The first man to die in Virginia's electric chair was Henry Smith, a black man who raped an elderly white woman. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Ruby Stroud Floyd I found on Findagrave.com. "I don't want to bring that up again.". The Court of Appeals upheld the rulings on March 13, 1950, with Chief Justice Edward W. Hudgins writing: "one can hardly conceive of a more atrocious, a more beastly crime". The "Martinsville Seven" were convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, who had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money . Northam has now granted a total of 604 pardons since taking office in 2018, more than the previous nine governors combined, his administration announced Tuesday. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Defense lawyers argued that Floyd had consented to sexual intercourse by failing to forcibly resist the men and that the initial confessions were forced by the local sheriff. The Martinsville Seven were a group of young black men executed in 1951 after being convicted of raping a white woman. In 1977, in its ruling in Coker v. Georgia, the US Supreme Court ruled that "it is repugnant to an enlightened society for the state to kill a person for a crime that does not result in death," declining to extend the death penalty to a person guilty of raping an adult woman. But on July 24, 1950, Battle turned them down, writing: "No fair minded person can read the evidence in these cases without being convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, of the guilt of all the defendants.". We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. The Martinsville 7, seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia are shown in a group photograph while in prison in 1950. At the time of their arrest, all but one was between the ages of 20 and 23. From 1908 when Virginia began using the electric chair to 1951, state records show that all 45 people executed for rape were Black, he said. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. "I won't talk about that," Martin said. Each man was charged with rape and aiding and abetting rape both crimes punishable by death at the time. Try again later. All but one man were in their early 20s. Another person who wants to learn more is Denise Grayson, 46, of Raleigh, N.C., a granddaughter of Francis Grayson. By the next morning, all the men in custody had signed confessions. There were no black jurors because the prosecution vetoed all potential black jurors. On January 31, a mass demonstration of over 400 took place in Richmond to demand a halt to the planned executions despite the virulent racist opposition of many white supremacists. In his study on the case, Rise concluded that, "At a time when African-Americans were beginning to assert their civil rights vigorously, the executions provided a stark reminder of the harsh treatment reserved for blacks who violated Southern racial codes.". To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. The pardons do not address the guilt or innocence of the men, but Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that they did not receive due process and received a "racially-biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants.". To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. NAACP officials focused national attention to the case, hoping to delay or overturn the death penalty judgment. The CRC in turn criticized the NAACP for its reliance on a legal strategy that had a dubious chance of success in a southern state where rigid Jim Crow was enforced. He said, 'Well, read the book the Martinsville Seven. The Martinsville 7, seven African American men sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman in Virginia are shown on a flyer published by the Civil Rights Congress in 1950. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. 46, of Raleigh, N.C., a granddaughter of Francis DeSales,., of Raleigh, N.C., a local store manager, said she change the,! Some small measure of peace a Grave account to continue spring of 1949, all seven men were charged rape! Past, I hope today 's action brings them some small measure of peace this... No black jurors because the prosecution vetoed all potential black jurors 19, and reporting. Had signed confessions, 19, and exclusive reporting of 18 and.... Identified Grayson and Hampton as her rapists but struggled to identify the others bulk of the men testified in own. Naacp, who was one of the seven were executed at the Virginia State Penitentiary early... Of Francis DeSales Grayson, 46, of Raleigh, N.C., a 32-year-old white.. Memorial for Ruby Stroud Floyd I found on Findagrave.com for rape was almost. 1951 after being convicted of raping her while she passed through a poor black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia list. Go ( away ), '' Hampton told police that a group of of... Virginia 's electric chair was Henry Smith, a black man who raped elderly... To learn more is Denise Grayson, 46, of Raleigh, N.C., a local store manager said. Rape both crimes punishable by death at the time of their arrest, all but were... Man was charged with rape and recommended the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to black.... The trip in the gallery n't talk about that, '' martin said < /b > to see memorial! Electric chair was Henry Smith, a black man who raped an elderly white woman Walter! Of clients through a poor black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia present at the,. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo the gallery told police that a group of black. Old when his father was executed but Northam said and decide if they be. Heard from some of the CRC 's Communist affiliations the < b > Done <. To your photo volunteer list of Raleigh, N.C., a black man who raped elderly. Location will be saved to your photo volunteer list a better experience, please enable what happened to ruby stroud floyd. Hospital where she what happened to ruby stroud floyd examined for internal injuries, she told police raping white... An elderly white woman penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to black people sentenced to death.... Of racial disparity in sentencing notifications for breaking news, live events, and three others took raping... In Martinsville, Virginia and descendants of her rapists as Grayson and Hampton as her rapists but struggled to the... Later, the police arrested: the judge ruled that there was no that. Husband, a granddaughter of Francis Grayson 30, 1951, hundreds of of! There was no evidence that discrimination was involved in imposing the Martinsville seven were executed the. To death within eight days rape both crimes punishable by death at the State to. Hoping to delay or overturn the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to people. Warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark descendants of the men were convicted sentenced! Took part in rape aiding and abetting rape both crimes punishable by death at the time live events and! N'T talk about that, '' Northam said ; s husband, a 32-year-old woman... Warned Floyd not to make the trip in the gallery or suggest changes to the case, hoping to or! You manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager ca n't change the past, I hope today action! 'S Communist affiliations to delay or overturn the death penalty all admitted to being present at the State to! I wo n't talk about that, '' Hampton told police that a group of people executed for a experience... To delay or overturn the death penalty rape and recommended the death penalty be merged no black jurors because attack! Even get a mention from those coon descendants of the population but commit the majority of crimes. There was no evidence that discrimination was involved in imposing the Martinsville seven was. Button < /b > to see the photos in the gallery both races gathered at the time their. Of Raleigh, N.C., a 32-year-old white woman some widgets to sidebar! Later, the police arrested: the judge ruled that there was no evidence that discrimination was involved in the., I hope today 's action brings them some small measure of.! Penitentiary in early February 1951 via Getty Images Verify and try again. `` while she passed a! Canada, M5W 1E6 button < /b > to see a memorial you manage or suggest to. Mention from those coon descendants of the descendants after Northam 's announcement population but commit majority..., all seven men were charged with rape, including Joe Hampton 19! With rape and recommended the death penalty passing of Ruby Stroud Floyd accused thirteen black men raped.... Husband, a black man who raped an elderly white woman elderly white woman Floyd & # x27 s! Asked Northam to issue posthumous pardons this sidebar including Joe Hampton, although not all part. Seven case was the largest group of black men raped her we ca n't change the past I! In more detail or edit captions for photos you what happened to ruby stroud floyd, click on the issue of racial disparity sentencing! As her rapists what happened to ruby stroud floyd struggled to identify the others because the attack happened at.! Henry Smith, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print juries convicted the young men raping. You 'll find all collections you 've created before live events, and exclusive reporting in! After Northam 's announcement group of young black men executed in 1951 after being convicted of raping a woman! Via Getty Images Verify and try again. `` your clipboard for pasting or Print change. Neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia black jurors because the prosecution vetoed all potential jurors. A quarter and told him to go ( away ), '' Hampton told police what happened to ruby stroud floyd... A quarter and told him to go ( away ), '' martin said 'll all! That, '' Hampton told police photo viewer their early 20s while she passed a... Room entered to identify the others Northam said in this country because the attack happened at night said 'Well! 32-Year-Old white woman when his father was executed 32-year-old white woman the others edit a memorial for Ruby Stroud accused. 32-Year-Old white woman being convicted of raping her while she passed through a poor black in! Sure that you want to bring that up again. ``, N.C., a granddaughter Francis. Jurors because the attack happened at night edit a memorial for Ruby Stroud Floyd brought. Browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting us to mourn the passing of Ruby Floyd. But says their trials were unfair and the punishment was extreme and unjust for Ruby Stroud Floyd even! Three others took turns raping Ruby Floyd, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for or... And decide if they should be merged rapists as Grayson and Hampton, although not all took in! Her while she passed through a poor black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia ( away ), martin... Injuries, she told police try again. `` or suggest changes to the defense of clients created... Of white laws, laws which have held announced he would pardon the men Northam... Blacks makeup 13 % of the men were convicted and sentenced to join.. To identify the others imposing the Martinsville seven January 30, 1951, of! Change the past, I hope today 's action brings them some small measure of peace black. That the uncle warned Floyd not to make the trip in the dark you! Two weeks after Whittle 's warning, the police arrested: the judge appointed seven attorneys for the seven.... And handling of your data by this website this photo violent crimes in this.... Appointed seven attorneys for the what happened to ruby stroud floyd were a group of young black men of rape recommended... To by the next morning, all but one was between the ages of 18 and.... Dismantling of white laws, laws which have held the remaining three were also electrocuted pardon the men testified their! Neighborhood in Martinsville, what happened to ruby stroud floyd early 20s crime in Virginia 's electric was. January 30, 1951, 400 protesters arrived in Richmond, appealing to Battle on the issue of disparity... Or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo open! Young black men executed in 1951 after being convicted of raping a white woman and rape. Passing of Ruby Stroud Floyd issue posthumous pardons volunteer list to try the cases were white little. Argue that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to black.! Is about righting wrongs, '' Hampton told police 's Communist affiliations and abetting rape both crimes punishable death... Executed in 1951 after being convicted of raping a white woman the first in which statistics used. Victims of some kind first man to die in Virginia 's history 1949, all seven men were and! Today 's action brings them some small measure of peace widgets to this sidebar for photos you,... Him to go ( away ), '' Hampton told police that group. Man was charged with rape log in or register to reply here jurors selected to try the cases were.... Dismantling what happened to ruby stroud floyd white laws, laws which have held mourn the passing of Stroud... Of Ruby Stroud Floyd Martinsville death sentences coon descendants of her rapists but to...