7 Black men were executed for an alleged rape in 1951. 70 years later, they've been pardoned

Nearly 70 years after their unjust executions, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons, Tuesday, to seven Black men known as the “Martinsville Seven,” who were convicted by all-White juries and executed for the alleged rape of a white woman in 1951 in Martinsville, U.S.

In 1951, Frank Hairston Jr., 18, Booker T. Millner, 19, Francis DeSales Grayson, 37, Howard Lee Hairston, 18, James Luther Hairston, 20, Joe Henry Hampton, 19, and John Claybon Taylor, 21 were executed over the alleged rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd.

Floyd said 13 Black men raped her on the evening of Jan. 8, 1949, as she passed through a predominately Black neighborhood.

Floyd identified both Grayson and Hampton as her rapists, but she had trouble identifying the others, according to BlackPast, an online reference center for Black history.

After they were interrogated by local police officers, the Martinsville Seven initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. All seven men were charged with rape. Four of them were executed in Virginia’s electric chair on Feb. 2, 1951. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted.

Family members of the seven men said their relatives were interrogated under duress, without the presence of a lawyer, and their confessions were coerced under threat of mob violence. Moreover, not all of the defendants were able to read the confessions they signed.

Since last year, the Martinville 7 Coalition, including family members and community advocates, have been pushing for the posthumous pardon. The families described during the ceremony of pardon the devastation of hasty trials and the brutal legacy of the electric chair.

Nearly two decades after their executions, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment for rape was cruel and unusual punishment.

“While these pardons do not address the guilt of the seven, they serve as recognition from the Commonwealth that these men were tried without adequate due process and received a racially biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants,” Virginia governor’s office said Tuesday.

These latest pardons mark the Virginia governor’s 604th pardon since his time in office. Before abolishing the death penalty earlier this year, Virginia had executed more people than any other state and from 1908 to 1951, all 45 prisoners executed for rape in Virginia were Black men.

“We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equal, and gets it right — no matter who you are or what you look like. I’m grateful to the advocates and families of the Martinsville Seven for their dedication and perseverance,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in his office statement.