Joseph Wall

AKA: Jody Wall
Released
Era:1960s
State:Florida
Support
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
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Biography

Joseph "Jody" Wall was a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee activist in St. Petersburg, Florida. On December 29, 1966, he helped Joseph Waller Jr., later known as Omali Yeshitela, remove a City Hall mural that protesters opposed for its racist depictions of Black people. Arrested and jailed, Wall remained in pretrial custody because he could not afford bail. A grand-larceny conviction brought three years of probation. On October 2, 1968, a Florida appeals court reversed his conviction and ordered a separate new trial; the subsequent outcome has not been established.

Case

Charges: Grand larceny arising from the December 29, 1966 St. Petersburg City Hall mural protest; related municipal charges.
Arrested: Dec 29, 1966
Incarcerated: Dec 29, 1966
Sentence: Three years of probation on the initial state conviction. Pretrial detention is documented: the six arrested protesters were transferred to the Pinellas County jail in downtown Clearwater on December 30, 1966. Wall remained unable to afford bail. Anita Richway Cutting's study cites an April 7, 1967 St. Petersburg Times report, 'Jailed 98 Days, Penniless Man Gets a Hearing'; this establishes an interim report of custody, not a final total or release date. The 1968 reversal ordered a new trial and was not an acquittal. The exact jail release and subsequent case disposition remain unverified.
Judge: Charles M. Phillips (state trial)
Convicted: Grand larceny: convicted May 1967; reversed and remanded for a separate new trial on October 2, 1968 (Wall v. State, 214 So. 2d 384). Subsequent outcome unverified.

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