Willis V. McCall
Encyclopedia
Willis Virgil McCall was sheriff
of Lake County, Florida
, serving seven consecutive terms from 1944 until he lost his bid for an eight term in 1972. Known for his no nonsense attitude for enforcing the law, several incidents during his career made national headlines. During his 28-year tenure as sheriff McCall was tried accused several times of abuse to inmates but never was legally charged.
woman, accused four black men of rape, testifying that she and her husband were attacked when their car stalled on a rural road near Groveland, Florida
. The next day, 16-year-old Charles Greenlee, Sam Shepherd, and Walter Irvin
were in jail. Ernest Thomas fled the county and avoided arrest for several days until a Sheriff's posse shot and killed him about 200 miles northwest of Lake County
. McCall himself was out of the state for the initial arrest, returning to Lake County two days after. As word spread about the accusation of rape and subsequent arrest of three of the "Groveland Four
," an angry crowd gathered at the county jail. The crowd demanded that McCall turn the three men over to them. According to Ormond Powers, a reporter for the Orlando Morning Sentinel
who covered the case, found that McCall had hidden the suspects in a nearby orange grove; but he told the mob they had been transferred. It was later disclosed that McCall had actually hidden the trio in the basement of his Eustis, Florida home. McCall promised that he would see that justice was done and urged the mob to "...let the court handle this calmly." McCall took several of the mob leaders through the jail to prove that the prisoners were not there.
Unable to find the three, the mob looked for a new target. They turned on a black neighborhood near Groveland, a small town in South Lake County where two of the accused and their families lived. The men drove to Groveland in a caravan and once they arrived, they shot into the air and hurled insults at any blacks they found. On the third day, fearing an escalation of mob violence McCall and several prominent businessmen in the area warned most of the residents to leave town until things settled down, which most did. On July 18, after several requests by McCall, Governor Fuller Warren
finally sent in the Florida Army National Guard
. Over the following six days, McCall, the Guard and officers from the Florida Highway Patrol
gradually restored order.
A grand jury indicted the rape suspects. NAACP attorney, Franklin Williams, reported that all three surviving suspects stated that confessions were beaten out of them at the hands of deputies. He also reported obvious signs of severe beatings. [1] Intake records at the state prison (where they were held awaiting trail) reportedly confirmed bruising on one of the inmates but could not confirm when or where he had received the injuries. The defense never brought this to light due to the lack of factual evidence. The prosecution did not bring the confessions into evidence, instead relying on testimonies and evidence found at the crime scene. Two of the defendants, Shepherd and Irvin, claimed they were in Eatonville, FL drinking that night. Greenlee and Thomas were claimed to be nowhere near the other defendants on that night and initially stated that they never met the other defendants. The physician who examined Norma was not called to the witness stand by either side. Sheriff Willis V. McCall's deputies were accused of manufacturing evidence in this case to win a conviction. The accusations against the deputies were found to be without merit in a later trial. The prosecution never entered the trio's confessions into evidence and relied on other evidence. Shepherd and Irvin were sentenced to death. Greenlee, because of his age, was sentenced to life in prison. Greenlee never appealed his conviction, as he faced receiving the death penalty in the future should another jury find him guilty again. In 1951, the Florida Supreme Court
ordered a retrial
for Shepherd and Irvin, arguing that inaccurate and racially-charged media coverage prior to the trial had prejudiced the jury pool in the area, and thus denied the defendants a fair trial.
In 1951 while McCall was transporting Shepherd and Irvin from Raiford to Tavares for another trial, McCall pulled his Department car off the state road leading into Umatilla, a small town in Lake County, claiming tire trouble. While removing the prisoners from the patrol car McCall swore in a deposition that Shepherd and Irvin attacked him in an escape attempt. McCall shot both prisoners, who were still handcuffed, wounding each three times. Shepherd was killed; Irvin survived. The next day, after talking with NAACP lawyers in his hospital room, Irvin stated in a sworn deposition that McCall shot them without provocation. McCall, also having wounds from the escape attempt and Irvin were transported to Waterman hospital in nearby Eustis, the only hospital in the county at that time, a transport of less than 10 miles. It has been reported that Irvin had to wait for over an hour for a hearse from a black funeral home in Leesburg to take him to Waterman—the ambulance Waterman used to transport patients was restricted to whites only. McCall waited at the scene and both were transported to the hospital arriving in the E.R. at the same time.
McCall was never charged for shooting Irvin or killing Shepherd.
The re-trial of Irvin was moved from Lake County to Marion County (just north of Lake County)and began after Irving recovered from the shooting. NAACP lawyer (and future Supreme Court justice
) Thurgood Marshall
represented Irvin in the re-trial. The trial became a pawn in the Cold War
as newspapers in the Soviet Union
pointed to the trial as evidence that American blacks were not free. New evidence was presented, but the jury again found Irvin guilty after a deliberation of 90 minutes. The case was appealed again, but the conviction was again upheld in lower courts, and in early 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States
declined to hear the case, citing the verdicts of the two earlier trials and no new evidence.
Later in that same year, newly-elected Governor LeRoy Collins
commuted Irvin's sentence to life in prison. Irvin was paroled in 1968. He died from heart complications while visiting Lake County in 1970. Greenlee was paroled in 1962.
, an executive director of the Florida NAACP, demanded that McCall be indicted for murder following the Groveland rape case, and requested that the Governor suspend him from office. Six weeks after calling for McCall's removal, Moore and his wife were killed when a bomb exploded under their bedroom in Mims
in Brevard County
on Christmas
night. Rumors alleged that McCall was behind the bombing. However, an extensive FBI investigation at the time and additional separate FBI and Justice Department investigations have failed to produce any evidence linking McCall in any way.
In 2005, a new investigation was launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
to include excavation of the Moore home in a search for new forensic evidence that may assist with the investigation.
On August 16, 2006, Florida Attorney General
Charlie Crist
announced his office had completed its 20-month investigation, resulting in the naming of four now-dead suspects, Earl Brooklyn, Tillman Belvin, Joseph Cox and Edward Spivey. All four had a long history with the Ku Klux Klan
, serving as officers in the Orange County
Klavern. Nowhere on the list was former Lake County Sheriff McCall, long the subject of the rumors and hearsay linking him with the case.
when he was asked by the school board to uphold their decision to ban five children from a white public school in Mount Dora
after parents and teachers suspected them to be "negro". Birth and school records from their native state also declared them to be "negro" McCall was accused of making speeches about this incident to the National Association for the Advancement of White People
. While waiting for the board to make its final decision, McCall found enrolment for the children in The Mt. Dora Christian Home and Bible School, a private school not subject to segregation laws in place at the time. On October 18, 1955, a court ruled that the children could attend white public school. By then the Platt family had decided to move away from Florida.
in Ocala
in neighbouring Marion County after a lengthy trial ended with 70 minutes of deliberation. Critics have argued that the all-white jury never seriously considered the charges. Supporters claim that the charges made against McCall were fabricated and based solely on politics
. The presiding Federal Judge stated that the charges brought against McCall appeared to have been false.
. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners named the road after McCall in the 1980s, responding to a request from the black and white citizens living on the road. In October 2007, the Lake County Commission changed the name of Willis V. McCall Road back to County Road 450A at the demands of The Lake County Young Democrats, despite the fact that not a single resident on the road formally requested the change and of the thirty-plus residents living on that road over 85% requested that the McCall name stay.
McCall published a memoir about his experiences, The Wisdom of Willis McCall, in which he defends his long career as sheriff and responds to his critics. He died on April 28, 1994 at the age of 84.
Sheriffs in the United States
In the United States, a sheriff is a county official and is typically the top law enforcement officer of a county. Historically, the sheriff was also commander of the militia in that county. Distinctive to law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected. The political election of...
of Lake County, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lake County is a county located in the state of Florida, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 210,528. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 307,243. Its county seat is Tavares...
, serving seven consecutive terms from 1944 until he lost his bid for an eight term in 1972. Known for his no nonsense attitude for enforcing the law, several incidents during his career made national headlines. During his 28-year tenure as sheriff McCall was tried accused several times of abuse to inmates but never was legally charged.
Early Years
Willis McCall was born in Umatilla, Lake County, Florida, son of Walter (born c.1877) and Pearl (born c.1886) McCall. His father was a farmer/businessman from Alabama.The Groveland Four
On July 16, 1949, Norma Padgett, a 17-year old Groveland, FloridaGroveland, Florida
Groveland is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2000 census. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 7,647...
woman, accused four black men of rape, testifying that she and her husband were attacked when their car stalled on a rural road near Groveland, Florida
Groveland, Florida
Groveland is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2000 census. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 7,647...
. The next day, 16-year-old Charles Greenlee, Sam Shepherd, and Walter Irvin
Walter Irvin
Walter Irvin was born in Lake County, Florida. He served in the United States Army during World War II. In 1949, he and three other black men were accused of raping a white woman in Groveland, Florida. They were given the name Groveland Four by the newspapers...
were in jail. Ernest Thomas fled the county and avoided arrest for several days until a Sheriff's posse shot and killed him about 200 miles northwest of Lake County
Lake County, Florida
Lake County is a county located in the state of Florida, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 210,528. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 307,243. Its county seat is Tavares...
. McCall himself was out of the state for the initial arrest, returning to Lake County two days after. As word spread about the accusation of rape and subsequent arrest of three of the "Groveland Four
Groveland Four
The term Groveland Four was coined by newspapers for the American cause celebre in which four African-American men were accused of raping a Caucasian woman named Norma Padgett in Groveland, Florida, in 1949. The four men were Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Sam Shepherd and Walter Irvin.Ernest...
," an angry crowd gathered at the county jail. The crowd demanded that McCall turn the three men over to them. According to Ormond Powers, a reporter for the Orlando Morning Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
who covered the case, found that McCall had hidden the suspects in a nearby orange grove; but he told the mob they had been transferred. It was later disclosed that McCall had actually hidden the trio in the basement of his Eustis, Florida home. McCall promised that he would see that justice was done and urged the mob to "...let the court handle this calmly." McCall took several of the mob leaders through the jail to prove that the prisoners were not there.
Unable to find the three, the mob looked for a new target. They turned on a black neighborhood near Groveland, a small town in South Lake County where two of the accused and their families lived. The men drove to Groveland in a caravan and once they arrived, they shot into the air and hurled insults at any blacks they found. On the third day, fearing an escalation of mob violence McCall and several prominent businessmen in the area warned most of the residents to leave town until things settled down, which most did. On July 18, after several requests by McCall, Governor Fuller Warren
Fuller Warren
Fuller Warren was the 30th Governor of Florida.Born in Blountstown, Florida, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville. While at the University of Florida, he was one of the early members of Florida Blue Key and was a member of the Tau Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity...
finally sent in the Florida Army National Guard
Florida Army National Guard
The Florida Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization...
. Over the following six days, McCall, the Guard and officers from the Florida Highway Patrol
Florida Highway Patrol
The Division of the Florida Highway Patrol is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the law enforcement agency charged with ensuring the safety of the highways and roads of the state.-History:...
gradually restored order.
A grand jury indicted the rape suspects. NAACP attorney, Franklin Williams, reported that all three surviving suspects stated that confessions were beaten out of them at the hands of deputies. He also reported obvious signs of severe beatings. [1] Intake records at the state prison (where they were held awaiting trail) reportedly confirmed bruising on one of the inmates but could not confirm when or where he had received the injuries. The defense never brought this to light due to the lack of factual evidence. The prosecution did not bring the confessions into evidence, instead relying on testimonies and evidence found at the crime scene. Two of the defendants, Shepherd and Irvin, claimed they were in Eatonville, FL drinking that night. Greenlee and Thomas were claimed to be nowhere near the other defendants on that night and initially stated that they never met the other defendants. The physician who examined Norma was not called to the witness stand by either side. Sheriff Willis V. McCall's deputies were accused of manufacturing evidence in this case to win a conviction. The accusations against the deputies were found to be without merit in a later trial. The prosecution never entered the trio's confessions into evidence and relied on other evidence. Shepherd and Irvin were sentenced to death. Greenlee, because of his age, was sentenced to life in prison. Greenlee never appealed his conviction, as he faced receiving the death penalty in the future should another jury find him guilty again. In 1951, the Florida Supreme Court
Florida Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges: the Chief Justice and six Justices who are appointed by the Governor to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each...
ordered a retrial
New trial
A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. Depending on the rules of the jurisdiction, a new trial may occur if:*a jury is unable to reach a verdict ;...
for Shepherd and Irvin, arguing that inaccurate and racially-charged media coverage prior to the trial had prejudiced the jury pool in the area, and thus denied the defendants a fair trial.
In 1951 while McCall was transporting Shepherd and Irvin from Raiford to Tavares for another trial, McCall pulled his Department car off the state road leading into Umatilla, a small town in Lake County, claiming tire trouble. While removing the prisoners from the patrol car McCall swore in a deposition that Shepherd and Irvin attacked him in an escape attempt. McCall shot both prisoners, who were still handcuffed, wounding each three times. Shepherd was killed; Irvin survived. The next day, after talking with NAACP lawyers in his hospital room, Irvin stated in a sworn deposition that McCall shot them without provocation. McCall, also having wounds from the escape attempt and Irvin were transported to Waterman hospital in nearby Eustis, the only hospital in the county at that time, a transport of less than 10 miles. It has been reported that Irvin had to wait for over an hour for a hearse from a black funeral home in Leesburg to take him to Waterman—the ambulance Waterman used to transport patients was restricted to whites only. McCall waited at the scene and both were transported to the hospital arriving in the E.R. at the same time.
McCall was never charged for shooting Irvin or killing Shepherd.
The re-trial of Irvin was moved from Lake County to Marion County (just north of Lake County)and began after Irving recovered from the shooting. NAACP lawyer (and future Supreme Court justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
) Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
represented Irvin in the re-trial. The trial became a pawn in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
as newspapers in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
pointed to the trial as evidence that American blacks were not free. New evidence was presented, but the jury again found Irvin guilty after a deliberation of 90 minutes. The case was appealed again, but the conviction was again upheld in lower courts, and in early 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
declined to hear the case, citing the verdicts of the two earlier trials and no new evidence.
Later in that same year, newly-elected Governor LeRoy Collins
LeRoy Collins
Thomas LeRoy Collins was the 33rd Governor of Florida.-Early life:Collins was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where he attended Leon High School. He went on to attend the Eastman Business College in New York and then went on to the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama to...
commuted Irvin's sentence to life in prison. Irvin was paroled in 1968. He died from heart complications while visiting Lake County in 1970. Greenlee was paroled in 1962.
The Harry T. Moore bombing
Harry T. MooreHarry T. Moore
Harry Tyson Moore was an African-American teacher, and founder of the first branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Brevard County, Florida....
, an executive director of the Florida NAACP, demanded that McCall be indicted for murder following the Groveland rape case, and requested that the Governor suspend him from office. Six weeks after calling for McCall's removal, Moore and his wife were killed when a bomb exploded under their bedroom in Mims
Mims, Florida
Mims is a census-designated place in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 9,147 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Mims is located at ....
in Brevard County
Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...
on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
night. Rumors alleged that McCall was behind the bombing. However, an extensive FBI investigation at the time and additional separate FBI and Justice Department investigations have failed to produce any evidence linking McCall in any way.
In 2005, a new investigation was launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a Florida government agency. FDLE is composed of five programs: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism, and the Florida Capitol Police...
to include excavation of the Moore home in a search for new forensic evidence that may assist with the investigation.
On August 16, 2006, Florida Attorney General
Florida Attorney General
The Florida Attorney General is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state....
Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
announced his office had completed its 20-month investigation, resulting in the naming of four now-dead suspects, Earl Brooklyn, Tillman Belvin, Joseph Cox and Edward Spivey. All four had a long history with the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, serving as officers in the Orange County
Orange County, Florida
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....
Klavern. Nowhere on the list was former Lake County Sheriff McCall, long the subject of the rumors and hearsay linking him with the case.
The Platt Children
In 1954, McCall again brought national attention to Lake CountyLake County, Florida
Lake County is a county located in the state of Florida, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 210,528. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 307,243. Its county seat is Tavares...
when he was asked by the school board to uphold their decision to ban five children from a white public school in Mount Dora
Mount Dora, Florida
Mount Dora is a U.S. city in Lake County, Florida. As of July 1, 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the Mount Dora population at 11,564. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
after parents and teachers suspected them to be "negro". Birth and school records from their native state also declared them to be "negro" McCall was accused of making speeches about this incident to the National Association for the Advancement of White People
National Association for the Advancement of White People
The National Association for the Advancement of White People is a white nationalist organization in the United States which primarily advocates racial segregation. It was originally incorporated on December 14, 1953 in Delaware by Bryant Bowles. The following year an article was written on the...
. While waiting for the board to make its final decision, McCall found enrolment for the children in The Mt. Dora Christian Home and Bible School, a private school not subject to segregation laws in place at the time. On October 18, 1955, a court ruled that the children could attend white public school. By then the Platt family had decided to move away from Florida.
Vickers Incident
McCall was later indicted by a grand jury for beating and kicking to death a black prisoner named Tommy Vickers in the county jail in April 1972. Governor Reubin Askew suspended McCall during the trial, but McCall was acquitted by an all-white juryAll-white jury
An "all-white jury" is an American political term used to describe a jury in a criminal trial, or grand jury investigation, composed only of white people, with the implication that the deliberations may not be fair and unbiased...
in Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
in neighbouring Marion County after a lengthy trial ended with 70 minutes of deliberation. Critics have argued that the all-white jury never seriously considered the charges. Supporters claim that the charges made against McCall were fabricated and based solely on politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. The presiding Federal Judge stated that the charges brought against McCall appeared to have been false.
Epilogue
McCall narrowly lost his re-election bid just days after the trial ended in November 1972 and retired to his home on County Route 450A (CR-450A) in Umatilla, FloridaUmatilla, Florida
Umatilla is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. It was named after Umatilla, Oregon. The population was 2,214 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 2,502. Umatilla is known as the Gateway to the Ocala National Forest,...
. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners named the road after McCall in the 1980s, responding to a request from the black and white citizens living on the road. In October 2007, the Lake County Commission changed the name of Willis V. McCall Road back to County Road 450A at the demands of The Lake County Young Democrats, despite the fact that not a single resident on the road formally requested the change and of the thirty-plus residents living on that road over 85% requested that the McCall name stay.
McCall published a memoir about his experiences, The Wisdom of Willis McCall, in which he defends his long career as sheriff and responds to his critics. He died on April 28, 1994 at the age of 84.
External links
- The Allen Platt case
- Former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argued two cases in Ocala with mention of Willis V. McCall http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030101/OCALACOMHISTORY/101010054/-1/community0104
- Selections from the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/AAexhibit/florida.htm
- St. Petersburg Article: A Southern sheriff's law and disorder http://www.sptimes.com/News/112899/Floridian/A_Southern_sheriff_s_.shtml
- "Hitler is Here": Lynching in Florida During the Era of World War II http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07112004-234544/unrestricted/08_THobbs_Conclusion.pdf
- PBS Documentary Freedom Never Dieshttp://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/index.html
- Who Killed Harry T. Moore http://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/terror/1951.html
- Groveland http://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/terror/groveland.html
- Lynchings http://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/terror/lynching.html
- KKK in Florida http://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/terror/k.html
- Life Magazine: High and Mighty Sheriff by Frank Trippett http://books.google.com/books?id=7FQEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA83#v=onepage&q&f=false