Willie Thomas

Released
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1950s
State:New York
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Biography

Willie Thomas was a Black man held in Albany, New York in 1951 for extradition back to an Alabama chain gang, from which he had escaped years after being sentenced to life at age fourteen for a robbery. The Civil Rights Congress campaigned to block his return after Governor Dewey signed the extradition papers.

Case

Charges: Fugitive from an Alabama chain gang (a life sentence imposed at age 14.
Sentence: Life on an Alabama chain gang; subject of a CRC anti-extradition campaign. Charges as recorded: Fugitive from an Alabama chain gang (a life sentence imposed at age 14 for robbery) — facing extradition.
Convicted: Originally convicted in Alabama as a child; fought 1951 extradition from New York.

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