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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.11.10 20:26l 38 Lines 1560 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 20799_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Nov 15
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Sent: 101115/1705Z @:N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA #:20799 [Branson] FBB7.00i $:20799_N
From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@WW
Nov 15, 1923:
Accused of rape, James Montgomery's struggle for justice begins
Mamie Snow, a mentally disabled white woman from Waukegan,
Illinois, claims that James Montgomery, a black veteran, factory
worker, and homeowner raped her. Montgomery, who was promptly
thrown in jail, spent more than 25 years in prison before his
conviction was overturned and he was released.
From the start, Montgomery's trial seemed ill fated. Local Ku Klux
Klan members threatened Montgomery's lawyer during the proceedings,
and, in 1923, after a weak defense and a trial that took less than
a day, Montgomery was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
While serving time, Montgomery studied the law in an attempt to
prove his innocence.
In 1946, he convinced civil rights attorney Luis Kutner to investigate
his case. Kutner discovered a medical report from Snow's hospital
stay revealing that not only was Snow never raped, she was likely
a virgin. Kutner also located additional evidence suggesting that
the Klan had framed Montgomery and that prosecutors had withheld
the medical evidence from the defense. Nonetheless, it took Kutner
three more years to have the unjust conviction overturned. Montgomery
was finally released in August 1949.
This case of wrongful imprisonment is not an isolated incident for
Illinois. Between 1977 and 1999, the state released 11 people from
death row because they had been wrongly convicted.
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