The family of a teen executed by Pennsylvania in 1931 for killing has filed a lawsuit looking for damages nearly a century after his demise.
Black Teenager's Family Seeks Compensation After His 1931 Execution
On Monday, lawyers representing Alexander McClay Williams' family declared they were suing over his killing after the vacating of his guilty sentence and the ordering of a new trial in 2022.
However, Williams, who was 16 at the time of his killing, was not retried after his demise, and his record was eradicated in 2017.
Williams' family has always maintained his innocence. In 2022, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer discharged the accusations against Williams, affirming he should never have been accused.
"Sadly, we cannot undo the past. We cannot rewrite history to erase the egregious wrongs of our forebearers," Stollsteimer said. "However, when, as here, justice can be served by publicly acknowledging such a wrong, we must seize that opportunity."
Citing Williams' unlawful guilty sentence and killing, his family has now filed a lawsuit against the state and Delaware County, looking for undefined vindictive damages.
Williams, a Black teenager, was guilty after the killing of 34-year-old Vida Robare, a white house matron at the Glen Mills School for Boys, on October 3, 1930. Her ex-husband, Fred Robare, who also worked at the school, found her body.
Williams was arrested and charged with stabbing Robare 47 times.
Despite no witnesses and Williams not being seen at the scene, prosecutors relied on coerced confessions from the 16-year-old. The lawsuit states prosecutors ignored other evidence, such as Robare's divorce filing against her husband for "extreme cruelty."
Williams was executed on June 8, 1931.
Attorneys Representing Williams' Family Uncovered Evidence Indicating Fabrication
Williams' family attorneys revealed that Sam Lemon, the great-grandson of Williams' trial attorney William H. Ridley, discovered that evidence against Williams was fabricated.
In 2022, the Court of Common Pleas for Delaware County vacated Williams' guilty sentence and ordered a new trial based on this new proof.
Subsequently, Stollsteimer discharged the case, according to the attorneys.
Susie Williams Carter, now 94, the last surviving sibling of the family, expressed outrage at a press conference, demanding justice for her brother's wrongful execution.
The lawsuit, filed by Philadelphia lawyer Joseph Marrone, targets Delaware County and the estates of two detectives and a prosecutor involved in the case.
Marrone argues that Williams was unfairly targeted because of his race and received a biased trial.
Governor Tom Wolf apologized for Williams' wrongful execution, and the District Attorney acknowledged the violation of the teen's constitutional rights. A judge in Delaware County vacated the conviction.
Williams' family endured decades of suffering due to the wrongful conviction, with little knowledge of the truth until recent investigations by author and educator Samuel Lemon.
The case sheds light on systemic injustices in the legal system, prompting calls for reform from exonerees and advocates for criminal justice reform.
