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Theodore Jordan

Released
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1950s
State:Oregon
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Biography

Theodore Jordan was a Black man convicted in 1932 of murdering a dining-car steward in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on a confession he said was beaten out of him; sentenced to hang, his sentence was commuted to life in 1934. In 1951 his case was reopened, and an official inquiry found that racial prejudice had prevented a fair prosecution.

Case

Charges: Murder — a conviction on an allegedly coerced confession, found tainted by racial prejudice.
Sentence: Death, commuted to life; pardon sought. Verdict as recorded: Convicted 1932 (death, commuted to life 1934); case reopened 1951.
Convicted: Yes