Jesse Daniels and Mabel’s Fight for Justice

As with the case of the Groveland Four, the story of Jesse Daniels might have faded from memory had it not been for Gilbert King’s recent work ‘Beneath a Ruthless Sun’ which revealed the harrowing story of a poor, mentally disabled teenager being framed for a crime he didn’t commit. When he was committed without trial to the Florida State Hospital for the Insane, Mabel joined forces with Jesse’s mother and used the power of the printed word in a quest for justice.

“…In her efforts to free her son, Pearl Daniels had help. A journalist by the name of Mabel Norris (Reese) Chesley took an interest in what she quickly determined to be a grave injustice, and she began a years-long crusade, writing more than a hundred stories about Jesse’s case. As a journalist, Mabel could not accept Jesse Daniels falling through the cracks. Mabel and Pearl became fast friends. Neither of them would back down from a fight.” Gilbert King