Episode 158: Pack it Up, Grandma! | Hiram Monserrate and Florida vs. Pitts / Lee

Tina and Hillary cover the former NY senator Hiram Monserrate and Florida vs Pitts/Lee.

Tina’s Story
Hiram Monserrate moved quickly from the New York City Council to the New York State Senate. BUT it was his quick temper that led to his political demise.

Hillary’s Story
In 1963, two black men in Florida were wrongfully convicted of murder. BUT even when evidence clears them of the deed, racism and bigotry delayed commuting their sentence.

Sources
Tina's Story
Associated Press
NY Senate votes to expel convicted lawmaker

Daily Politics
Monserrate convicted of misdemeanor--by Bill Hammond

Gotham Gazette
Hiram Monserrate Has No Place in Elected Office--by Nydia Velazquez

New York Daily News
Bloomberg: Monserrate's Actions 'Disgraceful, Despicable, Deplorable'

The New York Observor (Politicker NY)
Mad-Dog Councilman Champions No Man's Land--by Katharine Jose

The New York Post
Dems say ex-con Monserrate has real shot to win old Council seat--by Michael Gartland and Carl Campanile

The New York State Senate
Hiram Monserrate

The New York Times
Monserrate Is Cleared of Felonies--by Ralph Blumenthal
Monserrate Gets 2 Years in Prison for Misusing City Funds--by Colin Moynihan
New York Senate Expels Monserrate Over Assault--by Jeremy W. Peters
Rallying Around a Politician Charged With Assault--by Anne Barnard

People Pill
Hiram Monserrate

Syracuse
State Sen. Hiram Monserrate partly acquitted in domestic abuse case--by The Associated Press

Vote Hiram Monserrate
About Page

Photos
Hiram Monserrate--New York State Senate (Public Domain)
Hiram Monserrate announcing return to Democratic caucus in NY Senate--by Austin512 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Hillary's Story
Death Penalty Information Center
The 13 other survivors and their stories--by Sydney P. Freedberg

Local 10 News
Black Florida man wrongly convicted of murder in 1960s dies at age 83--by Sanela Sabovic

The National Registry of Exonerations
Wilbert Lee

The New York Times
‘It's Over’ for 2 Wrongly Held 12 Years--by James T. Wooten

Orlando Sentinel
Pitts and Lee: For 25 years, denial of compensation shamed Florida

Sun Sentinel
Wilbert Lee, wrongly convicted of murder, dies at 83--by Howard Cohen

Wikipedia
Pitts and Lee v. Florida

Witness to Innocence
Freddie Lee Pitts (1937-2020)
Photos
Pitts (L) and Lee leaving a court hearing in 1969--from AP via The Sun Sentinel
Lee and Pitts leaving their second murder trial--via Florida Memory
Lee and Pitts at FL Legislature in 1998--Photo by Don Edgar/AP via The Sun Sentinel