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Mary Jane Keeney

Released
Date of birth:1898
Date of death:1969
Gender:Female
Race:White
Era:1950s
State:District of Columbia
Support
Civil Liberties
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Biography

Mary Jane Keeney was a librarian and former United Nations employee prosecuted after she declined to answer a Senate subcommittee question about whether a State Department employee had helped her obtain her UN position. A jury convicted her of contempt of Congress on March 20, 1953. She received a suspended one-year sentence and a $250 fine, so she served no jail time. Her conviction was later overturned on appeal.

Case

Charges: Contempt of Congress for declining to answer a Senate subcommittee question
Sentenced: March 1953
Sentence: Suspended one-year sentence and $250 fine; no jail confinement.
Convicted: Yes