Tom Joyner Seeking Pardons for Executed Uncles

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Syndicated Tom Joyner will appear in a state appeals court in Columbia, SC, on October 14 to seek posthumous pardons for two great-uncles who were put to death for what he says is a crime they didn't commit. Joyner learned the story of his uncles when noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, PhD, announced the results of genealogy research conducted on Joyner's family as part of Gates' PBS special, "African American Lives II."

Thomas and Meeks Griffin were executed on September 29, 1915 after their arrest and conviction one day later for the slaying of a woman. Gates and his research team learned Joyner's uncles were, in fact, framed by a black man who, Gates said, may well have done the killing himself.

The Joyner family knew nothing about the case. "It was totally by surprise to me and my family," Joyner said, noting that Gates did not tell the family the results of his research in advance of the taping, so their reactions were caught on the air as the story was revealed. "My father, who wasn't in the room at the time, had never heard that story."

Joyner, with help from Gates and South Carolina attorney Stephen K. Benjamin, put together the case petitioning the state to exonerate his uncles. He noted that doing the genealogy allows families to put the struggles and triumphs of African-Americans in greater perspective, and he encourages people to do the research.