Seven black men executed for sexual assault 70 years ago received pardons after death.
It was not because of the guilt at the time, but because of the unfairness of the trial process.
On the 1st of local time, foreign media, including the Associated Press, reported that Virginia Governor Ralph Rossum granted pardons to seven black people executed in 1951 for the first time in 70 years.
The incident dates back to January 1949.
Called the 'Martinsville Seven', a 32-year-old white woman was sexually assaulted by seven black men while traveling to Martinsville, Virginia, to receive money from the sale of clothes.
Seven people who were identified as perpetrators at the end of the trial were all executed in 1951.
However, according to the bereaved family, most of the perpetrators, who were in their late teens or early 20s at the time, did not receive help from a lawyer during the police investigation, and it is known that they were threatened by being forced to confess.
The bereaved family also pointed out that a jury and judge made up only of whites at the time sentenced them to death.
In December of last year, bereaved families and civic groups submitted a petition to Governor Rossum to grant an amnesty, claiming in the petition that "I am not claiming that these seven are innocent. They were sentenced to death for crimes that would not have been punishable by white people." I did.
On March 31, Governor Rossum said, "I am not addressing the guilt of the seven people, but I admit that these people were tried without due process and received a racially biased death sentence that did not similarly apply to white defendants." has approved.
Governor Rossum's announcement brought tears to some bereaved families, and Governor Rossum said it was "to make right what was wrong," adding that "regardless of who the accused is or what color of skin we are, we all deserve a fair and equal judgment."
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(Photo = AP/Yonhap News)