Earlier this afternoon, the Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved a historical marker honoring the Martinsville Seven. This marker will be displayed in front of the old Henry County Courthouse, now known as the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center & Museum. The old Henry County Courthouse is where the Martinsville Seven were tried and sentenced to death. Thank you to the Martinsville Seven Initiative for all of their hard work to obtain a pardon for these men. Thank you to the Martinsville – Henry County Historical Soc for their endorsement of the historical marker. Thank you to each and every person who had a hand in making this possible. Due to the inspirational work of the Martinsville Seven Initiative, Vice Mayor Jennifer Bowles led the charge for the Martinsville City Council to approve a resolution to commute the sentence, which passed unanimously. After the resolution, I submitted an application to the Virginia Department of Historical Resources to create a historical marker recognizing these men. A special thank you to City Attorney Eric Monday who assisted with the application and generously offered to sponsor (pay for) the historical marker. Thank you to the Governor of Virginia for granting posthumous pardons for the Martinsville Seven. The pardons were issued as recognition from the Commonwealth that these men were tried without adequate due process and received a racially-biased death sentence not similarly applied to white defendants. Today marks a special day in The City of Martinsville VA! Please save the date as an official invitation to the unveiling of the marker will be announced soon.
