Mason was charged with raping a white woman, Irene Tusken, in 1920. There was no evidence to support the allegations, and the Minnesota Historical Society said that a family doctor who examined her had found no signs of rape or assault.
At the pardon hearing, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, "This particular request is essential for the name of Max Mason, but also for our state."
The forgiveness lasted for decades, according to Governor Tim Walz. It was added to the agenda more than six months ago.
"I don't think anything happens by accident," Walz told the board. "I believe we have had this opportunity, and I would ask my colleagues on the forgiveness committee to ponder this deeply and understand the implications of deleting Max Mason's name.
"100 years late. The timing was for a reason. It took decades."
In a letter to Walz in January, several members of the pardon committee pleaded for posthumous pardon. The request was supported by Mike Tusken, a family member of Irene Tusken and the police chief in Duluth, where the rape and arrest were allegedly carried out.
At the hearing, Tusken said, "Not only is the conviction unjust, but the facts lack the basis for an arrest in the first place."
Her aunt spent her last years in a nursing home after a stroke, unable to "reconcile the facts or atone for her role in the lynching or wrongful sentencing of Max Mason," he said.
Three men arrested with Mason were beaten and lynched the evening of their arrest by an angry mob on June 15, 1920. Mason was found guilty with little evidence and sentenced to approximately 30 years in prison. He was released on parole in 1925, less than five years after the start of his sentence, provided he left the state.
Mason lived the rest of his life in Alabama.
