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Willis V. McCall

Willis Virgil McCall (July 21, 1909 – April 28, 1994) was an elected sheriff of Lake County, Florida. He served seven consecutive terms from 1944 to 1972, losing his bid for an eighth term shortly after being acquitted of the murder in 1972 of Tommy J. Vickers, a mentally disabled black prisoner in his custody. McCall's notoriety outlived him. In 2007, the Lake County Commission voted unanimously to change a road named in his honor 20 years before, due to his history as as a "bully lawman whose notorious tenure was marked by charges of racial intolerance, brutality and murder." He gained national attention in the Groveland Case in 1949. In 1951 he shot and killed two defendants in the case while transporting them to a new trial, killing one on the spot. He was not indicted for this action. During his 28-year tenure as sheriff, McCall was investigated multiple times for civil rights violations and inmate abuse, and tried for murder, but was never convicted.