Percy Sutton

Released
Date of birth:24. 11. 1920
Date of death:26. 12. 2009
Age:89† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1960s
State:New York
Support
Civil Rights NAACP
Percy Sutton

Biography

Percy Sutton, president of the Manhattan branch of the NAACP, was arrested with Mark Lane as a 1961 Freedom Rider testing bus desegregation and jailed in Jackson, Mississippi, drawing the same four-month sentence (two suspended) and $200 fine for 'breach of the peace.'

Deputy clerk Robert Lilly’s sworn October 26, 1964 affidavit reports the following Hinds County Court disposition: County Court docket 12,788: dismissal on the prosecuting attorney’s request, March 30, 1962. This is the legal disposition of the Freedom Ride prosecution, not evidence that physical custody continued until that date or that a jail release occurred then. Earlier municipal convictions, where already documented, are preserved as earlier events.

Thomas v. Mississippi certiorari papers, including deputy clerk Robert Lilly’s October 26, 1964 affidavit, PDF pages 140, 141, 143.

Case

Charges: Breach of the peace — Freedom Ride testing interstate desegregation
Arrested: Jun 8, 1961
Incarcerated: Jun 8, 1961
Released: Jun 8, 1961
Sentence: Four months (two suspended) and a $200 fine County Court docket 12,788: dismissal on the prosecuting attorney’s request, March 30, 1962. The court disposition is not an independently verified physical-release date.
Convicted: Yes

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