Today, Governor Ron DeSantis issued a full pardon of the members of the Groveland Four: Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin and Charles Greenlee. The pardon was unanimously approved by the Executive Clemency Board.Please see the statement below from Governor DeSantis regarding the pardon:
“For seventy years, these four men have had their history wrongly written for crimes they did not commit. As I have said before, while that is a long time to wait, it is never too late to do the right thing. I believe the rule of law is society’s sacred bond. When it is trampled, we all suffer. For the Groveland Four, the truth was buried. The Perpetrators celebrated. But justice has cried out from that day until this. I would like to thank CFO Patronis, Attorney General Moody and Agriculture Commissioner Fried for their support.”
