Florida Lawmakers Apologize For 'Groveland Four,' Black Men Wrongly Convicted Of Rape In 1939

Florida lawmakers recently approved a bill that would pardon several black men of a crime they were wrongfully convicted of back in 1949.

In 1949, four black men in Groveland, Florida — Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Ernest Thomas — were convicted of raping 17-year-old Norma Padgett. Padgett, along with her estranged husband, claimed that while their car had broken down right outside of the city, the four men had stopped, got out of their car, and raped her.

From there all four were arrested. Thomas had escaped from the county jail but was ultimately captured and shot multiple times by a posse in Madison County. The remaining three men were beaten in jail to coerce confessions and were convicted at trial by an all-white jury. Shepherd and Irvin were sent to death, while Greenlee, who was 16 years-old at the time, was sentenced to life in prison.

Although none of the men are around today, members of their families were in attendance as lawmakers voted unanimously to sponsor HCR 631, which would give the men a posthumous exoneration and ask for their immediate pardon.

"This resolution, while seemingly minute, symbolizes the great state of Florida looking those families in the eyes — families, with children, who grew up not knowing their fathers but only knew their records," state Rep. Bobby DuBose (D-Fort Lauderdale) and one of the sponsors of the bill, said. "This resolution is us simply saying, 'We're sorry' — understanding we will never know or make up for the pain we have caused."