Senate Moves Forward With Apology To 'Groveland Four'
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Florida might shine bright now, but the Sunshine State's past has some dark history, including a trail of racial violence and intimidation before the civil rights movement.
The latest attempt to atone for one of those incidents --- the conviction of a quartet of men who became known as the "Groveland Four" --- was approved Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, putting the proposal (SCR 920) one step away from the Senate floor.
The resolution calls for a posthumous pardon for two of the men; the other two were killed by law enforcement officers in the aftermath of the alleged rape of a white woman in 1949. The legislation also formally apologizes to the men's families and "deem(s) the four men formally exonerated."
The Judiciary Committee unanimously supported the legislation, which now needs approval only from the Rules Committee to make it to the full Senate.
"This is Florida's version of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' " said Sen. Gary Farmer, the Fort Lauderdale Democrat who sponsored the resolution. "And I appreciate the committee supporting this resolution so that these families can get some closure."
The incident began in 1949, when a 17-year-old woman and her husband claimed that four black men --- Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Ernest Thomas --- had raped her near Groveland. The men were tortured until some of them confessed to the crime.
Thomas was killed a week later after trying to escape. The other three men were convicted, with Greene receiving a life sentence and Irvin and Shepherd condemned to death.
An appeal of Irvin and Shepherd's convictions, spearheaded by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, prompted the high court to overturn the verdict in 1951. Irvin and Shepherd were shot several months later, purportedly in self-defense, by Sheriff Willis McCall and a deputy. Shepherd was killed.
After Irvin was convicted and sentenced to death again, Gov. LeRoy Collins commuted his sentenced. Irvin was paroled in 1968 and died two years later. Greenlee, who was paroled in 1962, died in 2012.
Farmer said evidence that would have helped clear the men was kept from their defense team and only emerged in recent years when it was released by the FBI.
A 2013 book on the events --- "Devil in the Grove," by Gilbert King --- was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
A House companion (HCR 631) to Farmer's legislation has yet to be taken up by either of the committees scheduled to hear it.
The News Service of Florida's Brandon Larrabee contributed to this report.