MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A Lake County journalist who helped uncover the story of the Groveland Four is being honored for her work.
The granddaughter of Mabel Norris Reese accepted an award Thursday in Mount Dora, honoring Reese’s courageous reporting on the wrongful arrest of the Groveland Four.
Reese’s work in 1949 questioned a sheriff’s account, which contributed to the posthumous exoneration of the four men in 2019 and the dismissal of their indictment in 2021.
Reese served as editor of a small newspaper in Mount Dora in 1949.
Her reporting led to personal threats, including her dog being poisoned and her home being firebombed.
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