Carlton: History will show how Gov. Scott took a pass on justice for the Groveland Four

Florida Gov. Rick Scott had a chance to do something truly honorable that would have cost him little and gained a lot for his state before he leaves office.

Instead, he ducked.

Punted.

Whiffed completely.

Or maybe he just does not care about the shameful legacy of the Groveland Four.

In 1949, four black men — Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Ernest Thomas — were wrongly accused of raping a 17-year-old white woman just outside the town of Groveland in Lake County.

Their story is horrifying Florida history: the men beaten and tortured in police custody, two convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death, two shot by the sheriff on their way to be retried, another shot dead when a posse of white men and their bloodhounds found him after he escaped.

Setting this right — or at least making a meaningful gesture for the record that will also be part of Florida's history — should be a no-brainer. Elected officials should jump at the chance. And they did.

When the Florida Legislature took up the matter of the Groveland Four last year, the bipartisanship was remarkable.

Lawmakers unanimously issued a resolution including a "formal and heartfelt apology to these victims of racial hatred and to their families." They said these men were "victims of gross injustices and that their abhorrent treatment by the criminal justice system is a shameful chapter in this state's history."

And they asked Gov. Scott and his Clemency Board to posthumously pardon the four. Specifically, they requested an expedited review rather than the usual laborious, years-long process, something board members can easily do.

And something this nearly 70-year-old injustice surely warrants.

Since then?

From Scott, nothing but the sound of crickets in the night.

Oh, wait. When pressed, the governor's office did recently issue a statement about procedure that also noted Scott is "strongly against any form of racial injustice or discrimination."

Nice to hear. Better to see.

The Groveland Four failed to make the Clemency Board's final agenda for the year. And Scott leaves office in mere weeks.

And don't you find this puzzling? It would take so little effort to mark this dark time in history and say for the record it was wrong, to make a strong statement for the families of those men and for the citizens of Florida, too.

Scott did not.

But there is progress without him.

As the year and the governor's term drew to an end and questions got louder about the lack of action for the Groveland Four, clemency board members Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Jimmy Patronis, the chief financial officer, finally showed a little effort.

Interestingly, this came days after incoming Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said she would move to speed up the pardon process at her very first Cabinet meeting. And right after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio spoke up for the Groveland Four on the Senate floor.

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The incoming governor, Ron DeSantis, has since said the pardons will be a priority.

So barring a Christmas miracle, it appears it will be in the hands of Florida's next administration to set the record straight on who we once were and no longer are, to make this gesture of respect in memory of four men.

Since the current administration appears to have taken a pass.

Righting a wrong this egregious shouldn't have been put off as if it were a matter of little importance and not worth the effort.

History will show that under this governor and his cabinet, it was.

Contact Sue Carlton at scarlton@tampabay.com.