• Blog Post

    Estates of the Deceased “Wilmington Ten” Barred From Petitioning for Remuneration Payments for Wrongful Convictions

              In 1971, amidst heated racial confrontations following court-ordered desegregation of public schools, Mike’s Grocery Store in Wilmington, North Carolina was firebombed.  Police and fire rescue personnel responding to the scene were attacked by the perpetrators, and the event resulted in the arrest and conviction of nine black men and one white woman, collectively dubbed the “Wilmington Ten.”  The incident received national attention and several articles were published in the late 1970’s on the trial and its aftermath.  In 1980 the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned their convictions, determining that the defendants were denied their right to constitutional due process as a result of prosecutorial…