Gov. Ralph Northam asked to posthumously pardon Martinsville 7
Seven Black men were executed for raping a white woman in 1949, but some say investigation was a sham
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. – As Black History Month begins, a Southside group is calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to pardon seven men from a case more than 70 years ago.
The Martinsville Seven are seven Black men, executed after they were convicted of raping a white woman in 1949. Now decades later, they continue to question the integrity of the investigation.
The newspaper headline from “The Afro-American” read “Doomed Seven Calm to End” and some in Southside said it’s a headline we still see repeating 72 years later.
By Frank Green
Richmond Times-Dispatch
In late 1950 and early 1951, seven Black men awaited death in Virginiaâs electric chair in the rape of a white woman, drawing attention to Richmond from across the country and around the world.
Letters pleading for mercy flooded the governorâs office along with telegrams from as far away as Moscow. There was picketing at the White House, marches on the state Capitol in Richmond and a prayer vigil there attended by hundreds of people both Black and white â all for naught.
The âMartinsville Sevenâ were executed in two groups, four men on Feb. 2, 1951, and three on Feb. 5, at the former Virginia State Penitentiary a mile and a half from the state Capitol â the most executions for crimes against a single victim in state history and one of the largest in U.S. history.