Abstract:
In February 1971, Wilmington, North Carolina endured racially-charged violence that led to the trial of nine black males and one white female for crimes of arson and shooting. The 'Wilmington Ten' were sentenced to a combined 282 years in prison. Forty years later, North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue pardoned the group due to outrageous conduct and misappropriation of justice from the state in the 1970s.