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73-636: Thomas, Shepherd, Irvin, and Greenlee (then 16) were accused of raping 17-year-old Norma Padgett and assaulting her husband on July 16, 1949, in Groveland , Lake County, Florida. On July 26, 1949, Thomas fled and was killed by a sheriff's posse of 1,000 white men, who shot him over 400 times while he allegedly fled after being found asleep under a tree in southern Madison County . Greenlee, Shepherd, and Irvin were arrested. They were beaten to coerce confessions, but Irvin refused to confess. The three survivors were convicted at trial by an all-white jury . Greenlee

146-597: A 17-year-old white farm girl in Groveland, Florida. They were convicted by an all-white jury. The case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court which found that: Two witnesses for the State testified as to the identity of the four [men]. From the description of the automobile as given by the two witnesses the same was later located. The three defendants testified they were driving the car in question during

219-420: A conviction. All three men were convicted by the all-white jury . Shepherd and Irvin were sentenced to death, and Greenlee was sentenced to life, as he was a minor. The NAACP took on assisting the defense in appeals. In 1951 Marshall led the defense in an appeals hearing for Irvin and Shepherd at the U.S. Supreme Court . It overturned the convictions of both men based on adverse pre-trial publicity, and remanded

292-551: A deal from the prosecutor and Governor Fuller Warren that would have spared him from a death sentence if he pleaded guilty. His defense counsel, Thurgood Marshall , gained a change of venue to Marion County, Florida , because of the extensive and adverse publicity around the case in Lake County. Marshall led the defense team from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Irvin was again found guilty. Judge Futch, who

365-497: A household in the city was $ 32,017, and the median income for a family was $ 37,857. Males had a median income of $ 27,292 versus $ 20,186 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 15,132. About 13.9% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 22.6% of those age 65 or over. In 1949 four young African-American men (Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin, Charles Greenlee, and Ernest Thomas) were charged with raping

438-472: A letter in his letterbox addressed to his wife. Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall appointed a posse of more than 1000 armed men. They found and killed Thomas about 200 miles (320 km) away in Madison County, Florida , following a lengthy chase through the swamps. He was shot by the posse at least 400 times and died of his wounds; officers reported that Thomas was armed and allegedly reached for

511-658: A low color temperature with the goal to replace every light fixture by 2027. In 2023, the City of Groveland became the first certified International Dark Sky Community in Florida and the Southeast US. This achievement is the result of a three-year Dark Sky Initiative that included extensive education, community outreach, events, the adoption of a comprehensive lighting ordinance, a citywide lighting inventory, and numerous commitments intended to reduce light pollution and protect

584-529: A similar resolution; lawmakers called on Governor Rick Scott to officially pardon the men. On January 11, 2019, the Florida Board of Executive Clemency voted to pardon the Groveland Four. Newly elected Governor Ron DeSantis subsequently did so. On November 22, 2021, Judge Heidi Davis granted the state's motion to posthumously exonerate the men. Charles L. Greenlee (born 4 June 1933, Florida),

657-625: A vaginal smear revealed no spermatozoa present in the vagina, nor any organisms resembling gonococci , which could have been other evidence of sex. There were no other gross signs of bruises, breaks in the skin or other signs of violence. Shepherd and Irvin said that they had been together drinking in Eatonville, Florida , the night of the alleged attack. Greenlee said he was nowhere near the other defendants on that night and that he had never met Shepherd and Irvin before. The defense accused Sheriff McCall's deputies of manufacturing evidence to win

730-585: A weapon. According to the coroner's inquest, Lake County Sheriff McCall was at the scene when Thomas was shot. The coroner's jury determined that Thomas had been lawfully killed and ruled his death a justifiable homicide. A grand jury indicted the three remaining rape suspects. Shepherd and Greenlee separately later told FBI investigators that the deputies beat them until they confessed. Irvin refused to confess, despite also being severely beaten. An FBI investigation concluded that Lake County Sheriff's Department deputies James Yates and Leroy Campbell were responsible for

803-688: Is in Irwin County. Fitzgerald was developed in 1895 by Philander H. Fitzgerald, an Indianapolis newspaper editor. A former drummer boy in the Union Army during the Civil War, he founded it as a community for war veterans–both from the Union and from the Confederacy . The majority of the first citizens (some 2700) were Union veterans. It was incorporated on December 2, 1896. The town

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876-470: Is land and 0.15 square miles (0.4 km ), or 1.64%, is water. At the 2020 United States census , there were 9,006 people, 3,346 households, and 1,932 families residing in the city. By 2022 a part of the city was in Irwin County, but no people lived in that portion. The Dorminy-Massee House is now operated as a bed and breakfast . J. J. (Captain Jack) Dorminy built it in 1915 for his family;

949-467: Is located less than 15 miles (24 km) from the site where Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured on May 10, 1865. Fitzgerald was an early planned city. It was laid out as a square, with intersecting streets dividing it into four wards. Each ward was divided into four blocks and each block had sixteen squares. The first two streets running north–south on the west side of the city were named after Confederate generals Lee and Johnston, whereas

1022-734: Is located on the southern end of the county. Fitzgerald was home to a minor league baseball team in the Georgia State League from 1948, the league's first season of operation, through 1952. The team was called the Fitzgerald Pioneers . The club had no affiliation with any major league club during the five seasons of operation in the Georgia State League. After the 1952 season, the Fitzgerald Pioneers relocated to Sandersville and became

1095-527: Is located three miles southwest of the city. The airport is private, but is open for general aviation . Fitzgerald, Georgia Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of 2020, its population was 9,006. It is the principal city of the Fitzgerald micropolitan statistical area , which includes all of Ben Hill and Irwin counties. A small portion of Fitzgerald

1168-754: Is the county seat, hosting the Ben Hill County Courthouse . The Ben Hill County School District , which includes all of Ben Hill County, conducts pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one pre-school, one primary school, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 217 full-time teachers and over 3,395 students. While the Irwin County portion is in the Irwin County School District , as of 2022 no people live in that portion. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College – Ben Hill-Irwin Campus

1241-816: The Cincinnati Redlegs , the new edition of the Fitzgerald Pioneers lasted one season (1954) saw the team name changed to the Fitzgerald Redlegs . After two years in Fitzgerald, the club returned to Moultrie. It ceased operating in 1958 under the name Brunswick Phillies . After the Fitzgerald Redlegs left, the city was without a team for the 1955 season. The next year the Cordele club relocated to Fitzgerald after ten seasons in Cordele. They changed affiliation back to what were now called

1314-520: The Governor of Florida to suspend McCall. On Christmas Night 1951, a bomb went off below Moore's house, fatally wounding both him and his wife; he died that night and his wife followed nine days later. The bombers were never caught. At the second trial, Irvin was represented by Marshall and again convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. In 1955, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison by recently elected Governor LeRoy Collins . He

1387-832: The Kansas City A's , and the Fitzgerald A's played for the 1956 season. In 1957, the club again changed its affiliation, to the Baltimore Orioles; the club was known as the Fitzgerald Orioles for the 1957 season. The Fitzgerald team relocated to Dublin, Georgia after the 1957 season and remained a Baltimore Orioles farm team; they played as the Dublin Orioles for the Georgia–Florida League's last year of operation. Fitzgerald has not had

1460-591: The Ku Klux Klan were suspected of the crime , the people responsible were never brought to trial . In 2016, the City of Groveland and Lake County each apologized to survivors of the four men for the injustice against them. On April 18, 2017, a resolution of the Florida House of Representatives requested that all four men be exonerated. The Florida Senate quickly passed a similar resolution; lawmakers called on Governor Rick Scott to officially pardon

1533-516: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund Thurgood Marshall as their defense counsel. In 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a retrial after hearing the appeals of Shepherd and Irvin. It ruled they had not received a fair trial because no evidence had been presented, because of excessive adverse publicity, as well as because black people had been excluded from the jury. The court overturned the convictions and remanded

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1606-475: The Army, leaving with the rank of private. Samuel Shepherd (born 7 April 1927) was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia to Henry Shepherd and his wife Charlie M (Robinson) Shepherd, both of Georgia. His father was working in the lumber industry. The Shepherd family moved to Groveland, Florida, where his father achieved ownership of his own farm by clearing and developing former swamp land. When Samuel Shepherd registered for

1679-431: The City of Groveland passed a robust outdoor lighting ordinance to help curb light pollution against the ongoing rapid development. The ordinance requires residential and commercial development to have responsible outdoor lighting that minimizes glare, reduces light trespass, and does not pollute the night sky. Groveland is currently retrofitting old streetlamps with dark-sky-friendly lights, which are shielded downward with

1752-526: The Governor suspend McCall from office. On December 25, 1951, a bomb exploded in Moore's house, killing him and his wife, Harriette . Some alleged that Sheriff McCall was associated with ordering this bombing; however, an extensive FBI investigation at the time and additional separate investigations have failed to produce any evidence supporting allegations of McCall's involvement. Although members of

1825-503: The National Guard halted the destruction caused by the rioters. Cockcroft, the leader of the riot, revealed the mob's intentions when he told a reporter, "The next time, we'll clean out every Negro section in south Lake County." Charles Greenlee was a 16-year-old who had come from Gainesville and was trying to find work with his friend Ernest Thomas. Thomas had convinced Greenlee that there were plenty of jobs in Groveland. Greenlee

1898-481: The North and South; historian David Blight notes that outstanding issues of race were pushed aside. In this era southern states had already begun to pass new constitutions that raised barriers to voter registration, following Mississippi's in 1890, and essentially disenfranchised most freedmen and many poor whites. By 1900, Fitzgerald was a sundown town , prohibiting African Americans from living there. In recent years

1971-782: The Sandersville Wacos, which were affiliated with the Milwaukee Braves for the 1953 season. The team ended their last season in 1956, under different affiliation. Fitzgerald got a replacement team for the Pioneers in 1953 when the Moultrie Giants of the Georgia–Florida League moved to town. The Moultrie club was a charter member of the Georgia–Florida League when it began operations in 1946. After relocating to Fitzgerald and becoming an affiliate of

2044-404: The attack. The police took the men in their patrol car to a secluded spot and ordered them out of the car. Both men were beaten by police with blackjacks and fists and kicked as they lay on the ground, while being asked if they had picked up a white girl. Afterward, they were taken to the spot where the crime happened. Deputy Yates inspected Shepherd's shoes, which he had worn the night before. Yates

2117-466: The beatings violated the men's rights, and the FBI dispatched agents to investigate. The FBI later concluded that Lake County deputies James Yates and Leroy Campbell had violated the Groveland men's civil rights and urged U.S. Attorney Herbert Phillips of Florida to prosecute, but a grand jury did not return indictments of the deputies. The prosecution never introduced the coerced confessions as evidence into

2190-526: The beatings, and agents documented the physical abuse with photographs. The Justice Department urged the U.S. Attorney in Tampa to file charges, but U.S. Attorney Herbert Phillips was reluctant, and failed to return indictments. The NAACP helped with the men's defense, hiring Orlando attorney Franklin Williams . After interviewing the three surviving suspects, Williams said each had independently stated that he

2263-527: The case for the first time since 1952, attended the Clemency Board hearing to make a statement against exoneration, saying: I'm beggin' y'all not to give them pardon because they done it. Your minds might be made up. I don't know. If you do, y'all going to be just like them, and that's all I got to say, 'cause I know I'm telling the truth. I went to court twice. DeSantis issued the four men full posthumous pardons in 2019, but they were not exonerated by

Groveland Four - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-563: The case to the lower court for a new trial. In November 1951, Sheriff Willis V. McCall of Lake County, Florida shot Irvin and Shepherd while they were in his custody and handcuffed together. McCall claimed they had tried to escape while he was transporting them from Raiford State Prison back to the county seat of Tavares for the new trial. Shepherd died on the spot; Irvin survived and later told FBI investigators that McCall had shot them in cold blood and that his deputy, Yates, had also shot him in an attempt to kill him. Harry Moore called for

2409-510: The case to the lower court for a new trial. (Greenlee had not appealed his sentence of life imprisonment.) McCall was transporting Shepherd and Irvin from Raiford State Prison back to the Lake County jail in Tavares when he claimed to have a flat tire. Alone with the two handcuffed prisoners, McCall pulled down a dirt road to inspect the tire, outside Umatilla, Florida, north of Tavares. He claimed that Shepherd asked to relieve himself, and when

2482-498: The center of the city, leading north to Abbeville , Hawkinsville , and eventually Macon , and south to Ocilla , Nashville , and Lakeland . U.S. Route 319 also passes through Fitzgerald, leading northeast to McRae and Dublin and southwest to Tifton . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.3 km ), of which 8.8 square miles (22.9 km )

2555-421: The citrus groves. After returning to Groveland following their military service, Shepherd and Irvin both continued to wear their uniforms. They were proud of their service, which some of the local whites resented. Sheriff Willis McCall was known for supporting segregation , and keeping a strong hold on workers and against union organizing. He was part of ensuring there was a ready supply of low-wage workers to man

2628-407: The city has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km ), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km ) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km ) (12.91%) is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 18,505 people, 5,541 households, and 3,757 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census , there were 8,729 people, 2,465 households, and 2,014 families residing in

2701-511: The city. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,901 people, 845 households, and 626 families residing in the city. The population density was 897.1 inhabitants per square mile (346.4/km ). There were 921 housing units at an average density of 350.1 per square mile (135.2/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 68.81% White , 22.42% African American , 0.76% Native American , 0.55% Asian , 6.27% from other races , and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.70% of

2774-450: The conviction of the Groveland Four. Soon afterward, Sheriff Willis V. McCall of Lake County, Florida , shot Shepherd and Irvin. He asserted that they were trying to escape. Shepherd was killed, and Irvin was seriously wounded. When Irvin recovered, he told investigators that the sheriff had shot the two prisoners, without provocation, while they were in handcuffs. Moore demanded that the sheriff be indicted for murder and requested that

2847-410: The crime about dawn. A large track about the scene fit the shoe of one of the appellants. Cotton or lint about the car and broken glass in the automobile testified to by the woman assisted the officers in identifying the car which the appellants admit they were riding in at the exact hour the State charge the crime was committed. The victim testified that she had known Shepherd for years and that Irvin

2920-457: The criminal justice system perpetrated against them. On April 18, 2017, the Florida House of Representatives passed a resolution sponsored by State Representative Bobby DuBose requesting exoneration for the four men and apologizing to their families for the injustice of the case. The Florida State Senate passed an identical resolution sponsored by Senator Gary Farmer on April 27, 2017. The resolutions called on Governor Rick Scott to expedite

2993-400: The draft in 1945, he was described as 5'8", 149 pounds, with a light brown complexion, brown eyes and black hair. He gave his father Henry Shepherd as next of kin. Shepherd and Irvin were friends and fellow veterans after World War II. Ernest Thomas (born Florida), was married by July 1949 and living and working near Groveland. He had encouraged Greenlee to come there because of jobs related to

Groveland Four - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-520: The first two on the east side were named after Union generals Grant and Sherman. After about a year, the residents planned a Thanksgiving harvest parade. Separate Union and Confederate parades were planned. But when the band struck up to play, the Confederates joined the Union veterans to march as one under the US flag. At the time there was increasing reconciliation nationwide between white soldiers of

3139-422: The men. On January 11, 2019, the Florida Board of Executive Clemency voted to pardon the Groveland Four. Newly elected Governor Ron DeSantis subsequently did so. On November 22, 2021, Judge Heidi Davis granted the state's motion to posthumously exonerate the men. In 2022, the city received a large grant to restore The Oak Tree Union Colored Cemetery of Taylorville, an abandoned cemetery in Groveland. In 2022,

3212-530: The naming of four then suspects—Earl Brooklyn, Tillman Belvin, Joseph Cox and Edward Spivey—all deceased. All four had had a long history with the Ku Klux Klan , serving as officers in the Orange County Klavern. Although members of the Klan were suspected of the crime, the people responsible were never brought to trial. After recovering from his shooting wounds, Irvin was tried again after refusing

3285-410: The night sky. Groveland held its first Star Party in 2023 at Cherrylake Farms, attracting over 700 attendees. The City of Groveland continues to work with new residents, potential developers and neighboring communities to raise awareness about the importance of natural night skies, to improve safety and quality of life, and to protect the natural environment for all living things. Osborn Airfield

3358-438: The orange groves. Shepherd could work with his father, and Irvin was determined to find an alternative to the orange groves. Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee (age 16); Samuel Shepherd (age 22), and Walter Irvin (age 22), were identified by the police as suspects. Shepherd and Irvin were both veterans of service in the Army; and both Thomas and Greenlee were married. Irvin and Shepherd were arrested shortly after Padgett reported

3431-402: The population. In 2000, there were 845 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

3504-539: The process to grant posthumous pardons. Lawmakers also called on Scott to pardon the men. On January 11, 2019, the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, with newly seated Governor Ron DeSantis at the helm, unanimously agreed to pardon the Groveland Four. "Seventy years is a long time", DeSantis said before taking office. "And that's the amount of time four young men have been wrongly written into Florida history for crimes they did not commit and punishments they did not deserve." Norma Padgett, then 86, speaking publicly about

3577-456: The same hours of the early morning except they were driving in the Orlando area, which was in the opposite direction. In addition to the eyewitness testimony, there was physical evidence linking the car in which the young men were riding to the crime. The Florida Supreme Court stated: Near the scene of the crime a handkerchief and some cotton were found. The woman was found near the scene of

3650-475: The sheriff's statement that the young men had confessed while in custody, resulted in an unfair trial. "These defendants were prejudged as guilty and the trial was but a legal gesture to register a verdict already dictated by the press and the public opinion which it generated." A new trial was ordered. In 1949, Harry T. Moore , the executive director of the Florida NAACP , organized a campaign against

3723-430: The shooting was unprovoked. He said McCall had shot him and Shepherd in cold blood, staging the scene to make it look like an escape attempt, and that Lake County Deputy James Yates had joined McCall at the scene, seen that Irvin was still breathing, and fired one last shot through Irvin's neck. Irvin survived. The FBI later found a bullet buried in the ground beneath Irvin's blood spot that appeared to support his account of

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3796-441: The shooting. A nail found in the front wheel of McCall's car appeared to have caused his claimed "tire trouble" that night. McCall said that he had no idea how the nail got there, but the FBI believed that it had been placed there. An all-white coroner's jury, made up of many of McCall's friends, took half an hour to find Shepherd's death justified. They concluded that McCall had been acting in line of duty and in self-defense. McCall

3869-500: The special counsel with the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund , represented the four men, on the briefs, taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court . Oral argument was conducted by attorney Franklin H. Williams . The Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdicts. The Court found that sensational headlines in the local papers ("Night Riders Burn Lake Negro Homes" and "Flames From Negro Homes Light Night Sky in Lake County"), and newspaper reports of

3942-523: The state until 2021. After a motion submitted by State Attorney William M. Gladson, Judge Heidi Davis granted the state's motion on November 22, 2021, to posthumously dismiss the indictments of Thomas and Shepherd and vacate the convictions of Greenlee and Irvin. Padgett, who eventually moved to Taylor County, Georgia , died on July 12, 2024. Groveland, Florida Groveland is a city in Lake County , Florida , United States. The population

4015-478: The surviving families of the Groveland Four with a posthumous apology. Both Loucks and members of the Lake County Commission then began lobbying state lawmakers to do the same. Senator Geraldine Thompson , D-Orlando, filed a proposed resolution (SCR 136) for consideration during the 2016 legislative session to clear the names of Greenlee, Irvin, Shepherd, and Thomas and note the "egregious wrongs"

4088-488: The time and additional separate investigations in 1978, 1991, and 2005 found no evidence of McCall's involvement. In 2005, a new investigation was launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that included excavation of the Moore home to search for forensic evidence. On August 16, 2006, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist announced his office had completed its 20-month investigation, resulting in

4161-450: The trial. There is uncertainty about whether Padgett was raped. The prosecution did not question Dr. Geoffrey Binneveld, the physician who examined her, on the stand. Judge Truman Futch did not permit the defense to call the doctor as a witness. According to his records, Binneveld could not tell whether she had been raped. He found no evidence of tears or wounds in the vagina other than the lacerations mentioned above. Laboratory analysis of

4234-422: The two prisoners, cuffed together, got out of the car, they attacked McCall. He drew his pistol and shot at them. The shooting took place on a dark country road outside the town. He shot each prisoner three times. Shepherd was killed instantly, and Irvin survived by playing dead. The following morning, at the hospital where he had been taken for treatment, Irvin told FBI agents and reporter Mabel Norris Reese that

4307-630: The two-story, colonial-style home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Blue and Gray Museum , located in the town's AB&A 1908 railroad depot, houses several artifacts that tell the story of the town's founding. The town also has a city government owned art gallery located in the Carnegie library on the edge of downtown. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Fitzgerald Post Office. The city

4380-686: The unofficial, and sometimes controversial, mascot of the city has become the red junglefowl , a wild chicken native to the Indian subcontinent . In the late 1960s, a small number were released into the woods surrounding the city and they thrive to this day. In 2019, work began on a 62-foot (19 m) tall topiary statue of a chicken . Fitzgerald is located in Southeast Georgia at 31°42′56″N 83°15′23″W  /  31.71556°N 83.25639°W  / 31.71556; -83.25639 (31.715432, -83.256464). U.S. Route 129 passes through

4453-552: Was 18,505 at the 2020 census . It is located at the intersection of State Road 19 and State Road 33 / 50 . Groveland is part of the Orlando–;Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . Groveland is recognized as the first international Dark Sky Community in Florida, and in the Southeastern United States, by DarkSky International . According to the United States Census Bureau ,

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4526-410: Was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.23. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. In 2000, the median income for

4599-419: Was again presiding, sentenced him to death. After LeRoy Collins was elected governor in 1954, questions were raised to him about Irvin's case, because he was considered moderate. He reviewed it and in 1955 commuted Irvin's sentence to life in prison, stating that neither trial proved conclusively that Irvin was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Irvin was paroled in 1968. In 1969 he visited Lake County, where he

4672-475: Was already married and his wife was pregnant. Walter Lee Irvin (born 8 May 1927, Gainesville, Florida ), was living in Groveland when he registered for the draft in May 1945. He listed his mother Ellia Irvin as next of kin. He was working at the time for Apshawa Groves. He was recorded as 5'3" and weighing 105 pounds, and was described in his registration as "light brown", with brown eyes and black hair. He served in

4745-547: Was beaten by Lake County deputies. Shepherd and Greenlee both told FBI agents that they confessed to raping Padgett in order to stop the beatings. Irvin never confessed and maintained his innocence. Thurgood Marshall , the lead lawyer of the NAACP, pressed the Justice Department and the FBI to initiate a civil rights and domestic violence investigation into the beatings. Marshall convinced the Justice Department that

4818-572: Was cleared of any wrongdoing. Harry T. Moore , executive director of the Florida NAACP , demanded in 1951 that McCall be indicted for murder following the Groveland rape case, and requested that the governor suspend him from office. Six weeks after calling for McCall's removal, Moore and his wife were killed by a bomb that exploded under their bedroom in Mims , Brevard County, Florida on December 25, 1951, but an extensive FBI investigation at

4891-470: Was found dead in his car, officially of natural causes. Greenlee was paroled from prison in 1962. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee , with his wife and their daughter Carole, who was born in 1950 (his wife was pregnant when he was arrested). They had a son, Thomas, in 1965. Greenlee died on April 18, 2012, but not before seeing Gilbert King's 2012 book about the case published. In 2016 the Lake County Commission followed Groveland Mayor Tim Loucks in presenting

4964-406: Was frustrated to see that the soles did not match footprints in the ground at the scene. Irvin's were the same, but Irvin claimed that he was wearing a different pair of shoes. The two men were taken to Tavares jail, where they were interrogated in the basement while cuffed to overhead pipes and severely beaten. A mob rioted and burned Shepherd's house and two others to the ground. Only the presence of

5037-445: Was paroled in 1968, but died the next year in Lake County, purportedly of natural causes. Greenlee was paroled in 1962 and lived with his family until he died in 2012. In 2016, the City of Groveland and Lake County each apologized to survivors of the four men for the injustice against them. On April 18, 2017, a resolution of the Florida House of Representatives requested that all four men be exonerated. The Florida Senate quickly passed

5110-543: Was sentenced to life in prison because he was only 16 at the time of the alleged crime; the other two were sentenced to death. In 1949, Harry T. Moore , the executive director of the Florida NAACP , organized a campaign against the wrongful conviction of the three African Americans. Two years later, the case of two defendants reached the Supreme Court of the United States on appeal, with special counsel of

5183-511: Was someone she had seen in and around the Groveland community before the night of the assault. She reported the rape to the police within five hours after it occurred. One of the three men she accused (Thomas) was shot and killed by the police during his arrest. After the Florida Supreme Court decided to uphold the guilty verdicts, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Attorney Thurgood Marshall , then

5256-634: Was the son of Thomas H. and Emma Greenlee, who were born in Georgia and Alabama, respectively. His family was living in Columbia County when he was two, but they had moved to Baker County by the time Charles was 12. His father worked in turpentine manufacturing in 1935 and later as a laborer, likely also in the timber industry. In 1945, Charles and four of his siblings were all in school. Greenlee had come to Groveland in July 1949 looking for work, as he

5329-411: Was waiting at a rail depot to meet Thomas when he was arrested and brought to the police station under suspicion. Greenlee was interrogated and beaten in a cell that night until he admitted to the rape of Norma Padgett. Thomas escaped capture and fled Lake County the following morning. Greenlee admitted to having been with Thomas. Police learned where the latter lived and where he was hiding, as they found

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