Ruby McCollum (August 31, 1909 – May 23, 1992),
- Born Ruby Jackson- wealthy, married African-American woman
in Florida
- Known for the murder of Dr. C. Leroy Adams- a white doctor in 1952 who had been
elected to the state senate
- Ruby claims he had forced her to have sex and
bear his child.
- McCollum was tried and convicted and sentenced to
death.
- Her case was appealed and overturned by the State Supreme Court.
- Second trial, McCollum was examined and found mentally
incompetent to stand trial.
- Committed to the state mental hospital at
Chattahoochee, Florida, her attorney obtained her release under the Baker Act in 1974, as
she was not considered a danger to herself or others.
*McCollum's case was considered a landmark
trial in the struggle for civil rights, and instrumental in changing attitudes
about the practice of "paramour rights" (the assumption that white men have a "right" to use Black women for sex regardless of whether or not they are willing, or married to someone else)*McCollum's African-American
attorney, Releford McGriff, was also part of a team who was crucial in changing
Florida's Jim Crow practice of selecting all-white male jurors.
No comments:
Post a Comment