Francis DeSales Grayson
Francis DeSales Grayson was a Black man from Martinsville, Virginia, and his son James Grayson has said that he did not deserve to die. He was one of seven Black men from Martinsville executed in the electric chair in Richmond in February 1951. Family members and advocates say the men were interrogated without a lawyer, their confessions were coerced under threat of mob violence, and their trials were unfair. In 2021 Governor Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons, recognizing due process failures and a racially biased death sentence, though the pardons did not address guilt.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Family members and advocates say the men were interrogated without a lawyer, their confessions were coerced under threat of mob violence, and their trials were unfair; Governor Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons in 2021.