New Jersey Governor Refuses to Extradite Georgia Chain Gang Fugitive
New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore refused to extradite Robert Elliott Burns to Georgia, where Burns had escaped from serving a prison sentence on a chain gang. The governor cited the terrible conditions of Georgia chain gangs.
Georgia Governor Richard B. Russell, Jr., future U.S. Senator and leading segregationist, protested. Governor Moore replied by wishing Georgia Governor Russell a “Merry Christmas.” An ACLU report cited cases in New York, Michigan and Kansas in which governors had denied extradition requests.
Burns wrote an autobiography, I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, on which a popular Hollywood film was based.
Read: Robert Elliott Burns, I Am a Fugitive From a Georgia Chain Gang (1932)
Learn about the history of chain gangs here.
Watch the trailer for the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QvF2FZZftY
See the Film: I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932), with Burns as co-author of the screenplay
Visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture here