Thomas Wright's older brother

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:47:07 -0500

Rep. Thomas Wright's older brother spent four and a half years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

William "Joe" Wright II was one of the Wilmington 10, nine black men and a white woman arrested after violence broke out during protests of unequal treatment in school integration.

He and the others were convicted of firebombing a downtown grocery store and shooting at emergency workers, but key witnesses later recanted. Amnesty International once called the group "political prisoners."

In 2006, Thomas Wright told the Wilmington Star-News the memory was "still pretty touchy."

"The emotional, psychological and social impact and effect on my family was horrendous," he said. "My parents were looked upon in a jaundice kind of way by folks who were not friends of the family. People thought they raised a bad seed. My parents in some degree were ostracized."

In 1980, a federal appeals court judge overturned the convictions. Joe Wright died in 1990.

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Thomas Wright's older brother