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Frances Lee Wilson Canty

AKA: Frances Lee Wilson
Released
Gender:Female
Era:1960s
State:Mississippi
Time Imprisoned:
2 Months
Support
Civil Rights
Frances Lee Wilson Canty

Biography

Frances Lee Wilson Canty was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, on May 28, 1961, for participating in the Freedom Rides and challenging segregation in interstate transportation — one of the arrests recorded by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and preserved in the Civil Rights Digital Library. The catalog establishes the arrest, the participation, and the individually identified police photograph, but not the court disposition, any transfer to Parchman, or the physical release date; those fields are unresolved pending county-jail, court, or penitentiary records.

A family obituary reports that she was tried the following day, convicted of breach of the peace, fined $200, sentenced to 60 days, and transferred with other riders to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman; her exact discharge date is not documented.

Case

Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman)
Charges: Breach of the peace — entered the segregated white waiting room during a Freedom Ride, Jackson, May 28, 1961.
Arrested: May 28, 1961
Sentenced: May 29, 1961
Incarcerated: May 28, 1961
Released: July 1961
Sentence: A $200 fine and 60-day sentence, according to her family memorial. Taken to Jackson city jail immediately after her May 28, 1961 arrest, tried the following day, and later transferred to Parchman. Released on bail in mid-July 1961; the exact discharge day and actual custody total remain unverified.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Mississippi