The men were all in their late teens and early 20s, except for one of them, who was in his 30s. The seven men, most in their late teens or early 20s, were: Grayson, Frank Hairston Jr.; Howard Lee Hairston; James Luther Hairston; Joe Henry Hampton; Booker Millner; and John Clabon Taylor. August 31, 2021 / 3:17 PM The police first arrested Frank Hairston, Jr. and Booker T. Millner, and soon picked up James Luther Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, John Clabon Taylor, Francis DeSales Grayson, then James Henry Hampton as additional suspects. The rapes occurred on Saturday, January 8, 1949, after Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman, entered a black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, to collect money for clothing she had sold. It has been stated by several residents of Martinsville, Virginia that Grayson and Floyd were in a sexual relationship. Now, They Have Been Pardoned", A Year of History: Martinsville Seven executions remain 'a raw wound' for many, "Seeking Justice For The Martinsville Seven", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martinsville_Seven&oldid=1129000122, Frank Hairston Jr., age 20, confessed to rape, Booker T. Millner, age 22, said he was present, but did not take part. October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 65 days remain until the end of the year. In a news release, Northam said the pardons were not about whether the men were guilty, but it was "recognition from the Commonwealth" that the men did not receive adequate due process. The police first arrested Frank Hairston, Jr. and Booker T. Millner, and soon picked up James Luther Hairston, Howard Lee Hairston, John Clabon Taylor, Francis DeSales Grayson, then James Henry Hampton as additional suspects. What happened to the white American Ruby Stroud Floyd more than 70 years ago in a black neighborhood in the small town of Martinsville, Virginia, will probably remain unexplained forever. "The Martinsville Seven were not given adequate due process 'simply for being black,' they were sentenced to death for a crime that a white person would not have been executed for 'simply for being black,' and they were killed, by the Commonwealth, 'simply for being black,'" the advocates wrote in their letter to Northam. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. And will be dearly missed by family, friends, and everyone. But, none was selected for any of the seven juries, as the prosecutors rejected all of them on various grounds. From 1908 when Virginia began using the electric chair to 1951, state records show that all 45 people executed for rape were Black, he said. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly Black neighbourhood in Martinsville, Va . To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. This account has been disabled. Thanks for your help! Floyd Stroud was born on September 23 1903. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? All but one man were in their early 20s. Seven decades after seven men from the state were executed for an alleged sexual assault, they have been offered a posthumous pardon from Gov. Defense lawyers argued that Floyd had consented to sexual intercourse by failing to forcibly resist the men and that the initial confessions were forced by the local sheriff. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville . The Martinsville Seven, as the men became known, were convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who went to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on 8 January 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. If you would like to know more please let me know. Most of her clothing was missing, her legs and arms were scraped raw, and her hair was a tangle of twigs and pine needles. The seven were charged with the rape of Ruby Stroud Floyd in a black neighborhood of Martinsville, Virginia on January 8, 1949. [14], After exhausting the appeals process, with the US Supreme Court twice declining to hear the case, the NAACP and CRC began to appeal to executive offices. Failed to remove flower. [9][10] An editorial in New York's Amsterdam News read, When we consider the fact that in the entire history of the Old Dominion state, no white man has ever received capital punishment for rape, then of necessity we must conclude that the death penalty for seven men for a singular crime was neither righteous, nor compassionate, nor wise. Add to your scrapbook. As the sun set on an unusually mild Saturday in January 1949, a housewife named Ruby Floyd crossed Highway 58, the racial Rubicon of Martinsville, Va., to collect a $6 debt. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. You can directly shop your flowers on Amazon. She passed four men at the railroad tracks and continued into the neighborhood, where she was later assaulted by some of those four and other men. In their appeals, Martin and the NAACP discussed the unfairness of the venue, the pressure on later juries to arrive at the same sentence as the earlier ones, and the historical racial disparities in application of death penalty sentences in the state. At 7:30 that evening, the victim supported by two Cherry Town Samaritans stumbled into a shop. The Martinsville 7 were African-American young men accused of the rape of a white woman, Ruby Stroud Floyd, on January 8, 1949 in Martinsville, Virginia. This account has been disabled. Charles also killed a Officer a few miles west of town in the road in front of her parents home. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons on Aug. 30, 2021, to a group of Black men executed 70 years ago for allegedly raping a white woman in Martinsville, bringing attention to the little known case. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. By the spring of 1949, all seven men were charged with rape. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Please reset your password. We have set your language to * Joe Henry Hampton, Frank Hairston, Jr., Howard Hairston, Francis DeSales Grayson, John Clabon Taylor, James Luther Hairston and Booker T. Millner, were charged in one *537 indictment with raping Mrs. Ruby Stroud Floyd, a married woman 32 years of age, on January 8, 1949. [2] The NAACP did not want the CRC to participate in the litigation directly. Try again. The juries were all white and all male. Sorry! After a long legal battle led by the NAACP and a grassroots campaign led by the Civil Rights Congress . Try again later. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? He further stated, "We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equal, and gets it rightno matter who you are or what you look like. We encourage you all to respect the dead and accord the family heartbroken with the loss of a cherished one, some privacy as you leave a message in the comment session. Their trials and the electrocutions became a cause clbre similar to the Scottsboro Case of the 1930s. They applied the bulk of the funds raised to the defense of clients. "Thank you, Jesus. On 31 August 2021, Virginia finally offered a long overdue pardon to the Martinsville Seven. Ruby Stroud Floyd Obituary: In the loving memory of Ruby Stroud Floyd, we are saddened to inform you that Ruby Stroud Floyd, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. cemeteries found in Duplin County, North Carolina, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Floyd identified Grayson and Hampton as her rapists but struggled to identify the others because the attack happened at night. . But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. Failed to report flower. "We all deserve a criminal justice system that is fair, equal, and gets it rightno matter who you are or what you look like. While Ruby Stroud Floyd was being treated in hospital after the alleged rape, police arrested six suspects, and two days later a seventh. It was the largest group of people executed for a single-victim crime in Virginia's history. After being questioned by local police officers, the defendants initially confessed to committing or witnessing the crime. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. They should not have been executed," he added. Rape was a capital crime at the time. The son of a 65-year-old woman who was killed in the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting says the 'tragedy' happened the one time 'we didn't go together' Wayne Jones, who typically took his mother . They were not assigned a lawyer. The Martinsville Seven case drew national attention at the time . Four of the men were executed in Virginia's electric chair on Feb. 2, 1951. When Floyd passed 10 minutes later, Hampton stalked up and bear-hugged her when she tried to run. At the time, Virginia was one of 18 states, most in the South and West, that sanctioned the death penalty for sexual assault. The "Martinsville Seven," as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a White woman who had gone to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. They said that the men had been forced into confessing that they had raped Ruby Stroud Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman who had been visiting a predominantly Black section of Martinsville, which is. Your email address will not be published. In this January 30, 1951 file photo, as temperatures drop below freezing, demonstrators march in front of the White House in Washington, in what they said was an effort to persuade President Harry Truman to halt execution of seven Black men sentenced to death in Virginia on charges of raping a white woman. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Joe Hampton, 19, and three others took turns raping Ruby Floyd, a 32-year-old white woman. The remaining three were electrocuted three days later. Kombucha Makes Me Tired, - JacAnswers. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. By early 1951, legal strategies to save the Martinsville Seven were exhausted and the NAACP, joined by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), turned towards a public relations campaign aimed at commuting the mens death sentences. It was applied almost exclusively in black-on-white rapes. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Floyd J Stroud in 1930 United States Federal Census. Though Governor William Tuck initially agreed to a stay during appellate litigation, by late July 1950, newly elected Governor John S. Battle refused to commute the men's sentences, saying he was horrified by the rapes. On the evening of January 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 black men of raping her while she passed through a poor African American neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Ruby Stroud Floyd I found on Findagrave.com. Ruby Stroud Floyd accused thirteen black men of raping her while she passed through a poor black neighborhood . They argued for lesser sentences, but Battle resisted their pleas. The young men with spotty employment records but no real criminal history soon became known as the Martinsville Seven. The remaining three were electrocuted on February 5. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Year should not be greater than current year. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. This is a carousel with slides. Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, USA. A system error has occurred. Ruby Stroud Floyd was 32 years old at the time of the attack. Failed to delete memorial. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. ). Try again later. The case of the Martinsville Seven was cited during the legislative debate as an example of the disproportionate use of the death penalty against people of color. Our deepest condolences and heartfelt prayers are with the family and friends. On the evening of January 8, 1949, Ruby Stroud Floyd accused 13 black men of raping her while she passed through a poor African American neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia. Administrators as offensive or abusive seven were charged with rape electrocutions became a cause clbre similar to the defense clients. The gallery questioned by local police officers, the victim supported by two Town. 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