Clarence Norris, the lone survivor of nine black "Scottsboro Boys" falsely convicted of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931, died this week after spending much of his life on death row or on the run. He was 76.
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Norris, whose case became a symbol of judicial and racial discrimination in the segregated Deep South, died Monday at a Bronx hospital following a lengthy illness.Norris was paroled in 1946 after serving 15 years in prison, but he violated a condition of his parole, fled Alabama and remained a fugitive for more than 30 years. Finally, in 1976, the state Pardon and Parole Board found Norris innocent, and Gov. George Wallace signed an order pardoning the 64-year-old man.