signalmankenneth
Verified User
This should have happen decades ago?!!
Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The Army on Monday overturned the convictions of 110 Black soldiers court-martialed for their involvement in the 1917 Houston riots, which erupted against the backdrop of Jim Crow racial tensions in the United States during World War I.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth granted clemency after receiving a recommendation from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to set aside the convictions of Black troops who served in the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment -- a segregated unit more commonly referred to as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Those convicted will have their military records amended to accurately reflect their service as honorable, according to a statement from the Army Public Affairs office, which included comments from several armed forces commanders who described the case as a gross miscarriage of justice.
"After a thorough review, the board has found that these soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials," Wormuth said, hailing the military's decision to expunge the records. "By setting aside their convictions and granting honorable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight."
The commutations come more than a century after a pair of Black soldiers were brutally beaten and thrown in jail following a minor encounter with local police, setting off the deadly riot in communities already on edge due to prevailing racial hostilities of the era.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/army-commutes-convictions-110-black-153142996.html
Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The Army on Monday overturned the convictions of 110 Black soldiers court-martialed for their involvement in the 1917 Houston riots, which erupted against the backdrop of Jim Crow racial tensions in the United States during World War I.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth granted clemency after receiving a recommendation from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to set aside the convictions of Black troops who served in the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment -- a segregated unit more commonly referred to as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Those convicted will have their military records amended to accurately reflect their service as honorable, according to a statement from the Army Public Affairs office, which included comments from several armed forces commanders who described the case as a gross miscarriage of justice.
"After a thorough review, the board has found that these soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race and were not given fair trials," Wormuth said, hailing the military's decision to expunge the records. "By setting aside their convictions and granting honorable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight."
The commutations come more than a century after a pair of Black soldiers were brutally beaten and thrown in jail following a minor encounter with local police, setting off the deadly riot in communities already on edge due to prevailing racial hostilities of the era.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/army-commutes-convictions-110-black-153142996.html