The Martinsville Seven were a group of seven African-American men from Martinsville, Virginia who were convicted and executed in 1951 for raping a white woman in 1949. At the time of their arrest, all but one was between the ages of 20 and 23. They were quickly tried in six separate trials (two agreed to be tried together) and each was sentenced to death. It was the largest mass execution for rape that had been reported in the United States. Under Virginia law, only black men were executed for rape convictions. According to historian Eric W. Rise, this case "demonstrated the power of the southern legal system to enforce codes of racial behavior."