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George A. Burrows

Released
Full name:George Burrows
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1940s
State:Mississippi
Support
Civil Rights
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Biography

George A. Burrows was a Black cook in Harrison County, Mississippi who, after a dispute over wages, was framed on a charge of 'attempted rape' of a white woman and of shooting two white men — though the sheriff admitted he had not even touched the woman. Burrows fled north to New York, but in March 1943 Governor Thomas E. Dewey signed his extradition back to Mississippi over the protests of many organizations who feared he would be lynched.

Case

Charges: Framed on an 'attempted rape' charge.
Incarcerated: March 1943
Sentence: Returned to Mississippi custody over lynching fears. Charges as recorded: Framed on an 'attempted rape' charge after a wage dispute; extradited from New York.
Convicted: Extradited, 1943