Justice Delayed

October 15, 2009 5:11 PM

Nearly 100 years had passed since nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner's "great-uncles, Thomas Griffin and Meeks Griffin were wrongfully executed in South Carolina. On Wednesday, a board voted 7-0 to pardon both men, clearing their names in the 1913 killing of a veteran of the Confederate Army. ...It marks the first time in history that South Carolina has issued a posthumous pardon in a capital murder case."

"Joyner, the host of The Tom Joyner Morning Show, had known nothing of his great-uncles' murder convictions until last year. That's when esteemed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. uncovered Joyner's past as part of the PBS documentary African American Lives 2.

(Yes, that Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)

posted by darkstar (8 comments total)

I want my country back!
posted by Joe Beese at 5:22 PM on October 15

Also, Tom Joyner's Wikipedia entry. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s main Wikipedia Entry and the arrest controversy previously on MeFi.
posted by darkstar at 5:23 PM on October 15

Who are you calling Great-Uncle Tom? Oh...
posted by Frank Grimes at 5:24 PM on October 15

NPR's doing a pledge drive, so I've been listening to Joyner's morning show lately. Seems like a good guy. Likes classic soul, HBCUs and Steve 'Silk' Hurley. He's not going to talk me into flying Southwest, though.
posted by box at 5:32 PM on October 15 [1 favorite]

This is a great day for nationally syndicated radio hosts everywhere, and will go a long way to make up for the Limbaugh Tragedy of 2009.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:37 PM on October 15

Is that the Rams thing, or a different tragedy?
posted by box at 5:43 PM on October 15

A friend of mine worked with Mr. Joyner early in his career and I had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times. He's an incredibly charismatic guy, a born raconteur, and a lot of fun to have a beer with. The Tom Joyner you hear on the radio is pretty much the same guy you'll meet off it. I would love to see him debate Rush Limbaugh. He'd demolish that fat fuck.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 6:13 PM on October 15 [1 favorite]

The 73 year old veteran had an affair with a 22 year old woman. It doesn't say how he was killed or whether there was a smile on his face when they found him. Seriously, there isn't a lot of detail about the case but it sounds like they were convicted on the testimony of a jail house informant alone.
posted by Tashtego at 7:28 PM on October 15