By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 17:05 EST, 31 December 2012 | UPDATED: 17:19 EST, 31 December 2012 Outgoing North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue has pardoned the Wilmington 10, a group wrongly convicted 40 years ago of firebombing a local grocery store after police shot a black teenager. Nine black men and one white woman were given prison sentences totaling nearly 300 years in the notorious Civil Rights-era prosecution that led to accusations that the state was holding political prisoners. Perdue issued pardons of innocence today, which means the state no longer considers the 10 - four of whom have since died - guilty of a crime.
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Outgoing North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue pardoned the group today, though four have already died
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Nine black men and one white woman were given prison sentences totaling nearly 300 years in notorious Civil Rights-era prosecution
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Three key witnesses recanted their testimonies and the prosecutor in the case was found guilty of misconduct
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