Willie Tolbert
Willie James Tolbert (circa 1925 – October 28, 1949) was an African-American man from Greenwood, South Carolina, who was convicted of raping a white woman on August 8, 1949 and executed by electric chair on October 28, 1949. AP News stories about the three-day manhunt, trial, and execution of Tolbert were picked up by papers across the nation. Tolbert maintained in interviews with his lawyer and the press that the sex he had with the woman was consensual and that he was unable to testify in his own defense during the trial because he was warned not to by the county sheriff. Two separate reporters, Deling Booth and John Henry McCray who published articles providing Tolbert's version of the events were charged with criminal libel following Tolbert's execution. Arrest According to newspaper reports, a 16-year-old white woman and her white boyfriend, 17-year-old Sammy Cassels (also reported as Sam or Sammy Castles), were parked on the side of an isolated road when Tolbert approached their car on foot asking for a match to light his cigarette. The young woman, alarmed by the unexpected appearance of Tolbert, got out of the car and attempted to run away. Tolbert chased after her, caught