One was chased and shot 400 times. The other three were innocent convicted

In 1949, accused a teenage girl in Florida, the united STATES, four black men to have raped her in a car and exercised violence against the husband her on a deserted road.

One of the men got a raging mob in pursuit, and was shot and killed. The other three were convicted - wrongly such - on a syltynt bevisgrunnlag.

Shortly after the alleged rape was known to the public, shall white citizens have set fire to the homes and properties that belonged to african american families in the Groveland area.

the Incident has long been seen as a taint on Florida's crime story and a symbol of the racism that characterized the south at that time, writes the Washington Post. The four, Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Walter Irvin, were later called "the Groveland Four".

First, in 2017. they had four a formal apology for what happened that summer in 1949. And last Friday, they were pardoned, 70 years after the event.

Benådes

For the board that came with ruling, was the big question of whether the men received a fair trial. Governor Ron DeSantis came together with the board of directors to the conclusion that no, it was not.

GOVERNOR: Ron DeSantis. Photo: Joe Raedle/,/AFP Show more

the Board of directors decided so unanimously that the four benådes, after his death.

- You can in no way consider this matter and think that fairness prevailed. I hope that this brings peace to the families and the community they come from, " says DeSantis, according to the New York Times.

the Woman, now 86 years old, was present during the hearing. She says that what she told is true.

15 persons, including family members, participated in the hearing on behalf of the four sentenced. In addition to a whole lot of new information have been laid on the table, including results from a medical examination of the ungjenta, where it should not have been found some signs that she was raped. Greenlee and Thomas should not have been in the vicinity of the crime scene at the time.

Shot 400 times

Thomas was shot and killed just a few days after the woman reported the rape, after having been driven well over 300 miles. According to nyhetsbyåret AP should he have been shot 400 times when the mob found him sleeping under a tree.

Spent 18 years in prison for the rape and murder of 15-year-old - now he is acquitted

Greenlee, only 16 years old, received a life sentence. Sheperd and Irvin were sentenced to death.

Greenlee was paroled in 1982 and died in 2012. His daughter, Carol, was present.

- I feel the pounds just eased of the shoulders. It felt as if the door swung up. All I wanted was to jump up and down and say "rest in peace, dad. It's over now," she says to the Washington Post.

Sheperd and Irvin appealed his death sentence. On the way to the appeal they were however shot by sherriffen, who claim that the duo tried to escape. Sheperd died of his injuries, while Irvin only latet that he was dead and survived.

Irvin was released in 1968, and died a year later of a heart attack. But in the years to families have fought the deceased's case.

Among the most shocking and talked about the killings in the Norwegian krimhistorie