They were executed via the electric chair in 1915 for the murder in 1913 of 75-year-old John Q. Lewis, a Confederate veteran of Blackstock, South Carolina.
The Griffin brothers were convicted based on the accusations of a small-time thief, John "Monk" Stevenson.
Stevenson, who was found in possession of the victim's pistol, was sentenced to life in prison in exchange for testifying against the brothers.
The Griffin brothers, who were believed to be the wealthiest Black people in the area, sold their 138-acre (56 ha) farm to pay for their defense against the accusations.
[3] Joyner learned about his relationship to the Griffins through research conducted for the PBS documentary, African American Lives 2, by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., which also traced 11 other relatives.