Florida House Apologizes to Groveland Four
April 18th, 2017 by Mike VasilindaThe Florida House has approved legislation formally apologizing to the families of four African American men wrongfully convicted in 1949 of raping a white woman. Know as the Groveland Four, three of the men were sent to prison. A fourth was shot by a posse. After the US Supreme Court threw out the convictions, two of the men were shot, one of them fatally, by the Sheriff in Lake County. Carol Greenlee is the daughter of the longest surviving man. She thanked lawmakers.
“For releasing my family from prison. From releasing my nieces. My son. My brothers from the dark cloud, the shame and the stigma” says the 67 year old, who was four when her father went to prison.
Author Gilbert King won a Pulitzer for his book “Devil in the Grove” about the crime and the murders.
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