Little Known Black History Fact: George Stinney

George Stinney, a 14-year-old Black boy who was executed in June 1944, the youngest person to be executed in the 20th century America, should never have faced the electric chair a circuit court judge ruled this past Wednesday.

Stinney’s name has been cleared in the murder of two young white girls in a small South Carolina town. Ther resolution of his case once again reveals the enormity of the injustice Stinney faced at the time.

Some seventy years later, Judge Carmen Mullen exonerated Stinney, who was convicted of beating Marry Emma Thames and Betty June Binnicker to death in 1944. After witnesses say they saw Stinney picking flowers in the small town of Alcolu, he was arrested and charged. Stinney was never given any manner of defense and there was a violation of his due process.

Stinney confessed to the crimes after investigators struck so much fear into him that he said anything that would have made them happy. Stinney was so small that the straps of the electric chair didn’t fit him and he had to sit on a phone book.

Judge Mullen’s ruling clears Stinney’s name in the end, giving closure to the Stinney family and supporters calling for the case to be examined. They maintain that Stinney was forced to confess to the murders by police.

Stinney’s trial lasted just three hours in front of a jury of 12 white men.

According to reports, the defense presented no witnesses, no physical evidence, and did not file an appeal on Stinney’s behalf.

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