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John Thomas Porter

Released
Date of birth:04. 04. 1931
Date of death:15. 02. 2006
Age:74† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1960s
State:Alabama
Time Imprisoned:
5 Days
Support
Civil Rights
John Thomas Porter

Biography

John Thomas Porter was the pastor of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham and once an assistant to Martin Luther King Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist in Montgomery. He was one of the eight petitioners in Walker v. City of Birmingham, convicted of criminal contempt for going forward with the Good Friday and Easter 1963 marches against segregation in defiance of a state-court injunction. The Supreme Court upheld the convictions 5-4 in 1967, and the eight served five-day jail terms that fall.

Case

Birmingham City Jail
Charges: Criminal contempt of court
Arrested: Oct 23, 1967
Incarcerated: Oct 23, 1967
Sentence: Five days in jail and a $50 fine
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Alabama