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.
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