On a rainy morning people gathered for the unveiling and dedication of a marker in front of the old Henry County Courthouse uptown recognizing the Martinsville Seven.
The old Henry County Courthouse is now the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center and Museum, and inside there is now a display recounting the day on Feb. 8, 1949 when Ruby Floyd, a white woman, told police she had been raped.
On a rainy Saturday morning people gathered for the unveiling and dedication of a marker in front of the old Henry County Courthouse uptown recognizing the Martinsville Seven.
Virginia Governor Posthumously Pardons The Martinsville 7 oxygen.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oxygen.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
John
Clabon Taylor were interrogated by police without the appointment of legal counsel and, under threats that they would be released to a lynch mob, confessed to involvement in the rape. After a succession of perfunctory trials before all-white, all-male juries, each was convicted and sentenced to death. Their sentences were carried out in the largest mass execution for rape in the history of the United States.
Seventy years later, family members of the men and legal advocates are spearheading an effort to posthumously pardon the men and redress a miscarriage of justice. In the January 21, 2021 episode of the
Discussions With DPIC podcast,