Incoming Florida gov wants pardon review for Groveland Four

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Mike Schneider, Associated Press
Updated 6:11 pm CST, Thursday, December 20, 2018


ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's incoming governor wants to consider a pardon for four young African-American men who were wrongly accused of raping a white woman nearly 70 years ago.

Republican Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis said in a statement Thursday he would make the cases of the Groveland Four a priority at the first meeting of the Florida Cabinet next month. The cases are considered among the greatest miscarriages of justice during Jim Crow-era Florida.

"Seventy years is a long time," DeSantis said. "And that's the amount of time four young men have been wrongly written into Florida history for crimes they did not commit and punishments they did not deserve."

Florida's outgoing governor Rick Scott and other Republicans on the state clemency board have refused to take up the pardon request, even though the Florida Legislature last year formally apologized and asked for a pardon.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Florida-s-DeSantis-wants-pardon-review-for-13482159.php

[radical noodle]

1. There's a great book about the case

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King. There is no question they were not guilty because the "crime" never happened.

[OriginalGeek]

6. it's being made into a movie

The cynic in me figures Desatanist is hoping for a crawling text at the end of the movie praising him for pardoning these people so he can say "lookit meeeeeee! I'ma good guy!"


he won't fool me though.

[radical noodle]

8. It would be a difficult movie to watch

The horrors those four experienced is unbelievable. I'm sad to say I live very near where it took place.

[OriginalGeek]

9. Me too

Not too far... A friend from work just bought land out there.

I'll have to see how they treat it but i'm leaning towards just catching the cliff notes.

[SunSeeker]

2. I guess De Santis is trying to rehabilitate himself after his "monkey" comment.

I mean, I am really happy for the victims' families, and this is long overdue. But I can't help but to feel cynical.

This is the same Governor-elect who intends to slow walk the enfranchisement of felons who have paid their debt to society, even though an overwhelming majority of Floridians voted to end felon disenfranchisement.

[Judi Lynn]

3. I didn't think it sounded like him, either, knowing he's a dirtball. I'm sure you're right. n/t

[JPK]

4. DeSantis is a piece of shit

He's trying to slow foot the felon voting rights enactment in total contradiction to the vast majority of Florida voters.

[cstanleytech]

10. Well you know what they say,

you can spray all the air freshener you want but a piece of shit is still going to be a piece of shit as the freshener just masks the smell for a short time.

[hatrack]

5. Gosh, Johnny-on-the-spot here .. .

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. Well, that's good.

Doesn't really move my overall opinion of DeSantis as a whole, but can't say that it's not the right thing to do just because he's doing it.