In 1951, a group of Black men who came to be known as the “Martinsville Seven” were tried by a white jury and sentenced to death for their supposed role in the gang rape of a 32-year-old white woman named Ruby Stroud Floyd. Seventy years later, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam…
Tag: due process
In Historic First, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Pardons 34 Victims of Racial Lynching
In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind pardon by a U.S. governor, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has issued a posthumous pardon to 34 individuals murdered in racist lynchings that took place between 1854 and 1933 in his state. In each instance, the individuals were denied legal due process for…