One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in America occurred in Port St. Joe, Florida in the case of Freddie Lee Pitts and Wilbert Lee. The two Black men were convicted of a double homicide despite no physical evidence, no credible eyewitness, confessions forced via police torture and a subsequent confession shortly after from the actual murderer. The pair were eventually pardoned after serving 12 years. Spearheading the pardon was Miami Herald journalist Gene Miller, and our guest this week, Pitts and Lee's defense attorney at appeal, Phillip A Hubbart. Hubbart is the author of "From Death Row to Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case."
Image: University Press of Florida.
Craig Pittman is the award-winning author of Oh, Florida!: How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, The Scent of Scandal, Cat Tale, Manatee Insanity and The State You’re In, and co-author of Paving Paradise. Born in Pensacola, he graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him “the most destructive force on campus.” Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature.
