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Jackson Advocate
Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi
What is this article about?
Mississippi Gov. J. P. Coleman offers to free Lang, a Black man serving life for 1954 Laurel rape, if prosecutors certify his innocence amid evidence implicating Leroy Moody in the crime. (148 characters)
Merged-components note: Continuation of governor clemency story.
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Gov. J. P. Coleman said here last Thursday he would free a Negro convicted of raping a Laurel white woman if the officials who prosecuted him signed a certificate saying he was innocent.
"I told him that if the district attorney and the circuit judge who presided over his trial would sign a certificate saying they believed he was innocent I would release him from the state penitentiary," Coleman said. "Otherwise I could (Continued on Page Six)
Governor.
(Continued from Page One)
not release him."
Life Sentence
Lang was sentenced to life imprisonment for attacking a 21-year-old mother in her home in 1954. Officers said they recently discovered that fingerprints found in the victim's home match those of a 26-year-old Negro convict, Leroy Moody, convicted of a later but similar attack on a 30-year-old white woman. He is now serving life in Parchman penitentiary after confessing the crime. He denied an earlier attack.
Investigators also found a ring belonging to Lang's alleged victim in the possession of Moody's wife.
Lang has steadfastly denied any knowledge of the crime. He lost appeals to both the state and U. S. supreme court. He was convicted on the testimony of the victim who spotted him on the streets of Laurel one year after the attack.
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What sub-type of article is it?
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What entities or persons were involved?
Where did it happen?
Domestic News Details
Primary Location
Laurel
Event Date
Last Thursday; 1954
Key Persons
Outcome
lang sentenced to life imprisonment; leroy moody serving life in parchman penitentiary after confessing similar crime
Event Details
Gov. J. P. Coleman stated he would free Lang, convicted of raping a 21-year-old white woman in her Laurel home in 1954, if the district attorney and circuit judge sign a certificate of innocence. Fingerprints from the scene match Leroy Moody, convicted of a similar attack on a 30-year-old white woman. A ring from Lang's victim found with Moody's wife. Lang denied the crime and lost appeals; convicted on victim's testimony.