Seventy years later, American justice exempted George Stinney Jr.
George Stinney Jr.A 14-year-old black boy was sentenced to an electric chair in 1944 after being convicted by US justice for being involved in the murder of two white girls.
I have a sad record The youngest person in North American history to be executed.. He was sentenced to death after a trial that lasted only one day: he was accused of double murder.
George was killed on June 10, 1944. Only 83 days after conviction.. Seventy years later, Justice considered his case at the request of his family, The ruling lacked legal justification.
George Stinney was placed in an electric chair on June 10, 1944.
Two brutal murders with no certainty
In March 1944, the bodies of Betty June Binicker and Mary Emmatems, ages 7 and 11, were discovered. They were a few meters from the Clarendon Baptist Church in South Carolina.
The person responsible for the crime broke the skulls of both girls with a wooden beam found covered in blood a few meters away from the body.
According to CNN, “there are skull fractures with holes under each,” the medical report said.It was also claimed that the girl had a “crushed bone mass”
In 1944, racist and separatist laws were rampant in the southern United States. The railroad tracks marked the boundary between the White Zone and the homes of black workers.
Betty June Vinicker and Mary Emmatems were found dead near the railroad tracks in Alcor, South Carolina, in March 1944.
Betty and Mary went out on their bikes looking for wildflowers to make tea. They were unaware that they were in the urban area where the blacks lived at the time.
A few blocks later, they met George Stinney, who was caring for the cows in his family. They asked the boy where to find the plants, he gave them instructions, and the two little girls continued their path.
By law George Guilty
According to police sources, the last person to come into contact with the girls was George Stinney. George Stinney was first arrested and charged with double murder after being first arrested and charged with a ruthless cross-examination that “confessed” to the crime. According to the South Carolina Archive History Bureau, he has a degree.
The commissioner, who was in charge of investigating the case, added in his statement that George confessed that he had killed the girl to rape the older girl, and then killed her sister. However, no record of this confession was written.
For unknown reasons, George’s name was later blacked out on this billing form. Photo: South Carolina Archive History Bureau.
The trial took place less than a month after Stiny’s arrest and lasted only two hours. The defendant’s defense did nothing because the minor’s defense had never called a witness.
According to AFP agency records, the jury did not have African-Americans, even Stiny’s lawyer.
During the judicial process, the African-American community was unable to enter the room and voted much less. Also, families who had to leave due to intimidation could not attend.
Another tort
The jury unanimously decided to declare the boy an electric chair in a cry from the city calling for the suspension of the decision.
In addition to this, Governor Olin Johnston upheld the House’s decision that “those convicted of murder should not be falsely accused,” he said, according to Wis media. ..
In this way, the movie “83 Days” recreates the youngest George Stinney sentenced to death in the United States.
On June 16, 1944, just 83 days after the double murder of the girl, George Stinney was sentenced to death in South Carolina State Prison.
His death was painful and chilling: George was 1.55 meters tall and weighed 40 kilograms. They had to make him sit on his Bible to apply the electrodes.
“I didn’t, I didn’t. Why do they kill me for something I didn’t do?After a while, the prisoner who shared his cell with the boy recalled in an interview with the US media.
A lifetime seeking justice
George’s family demanded the innocence of a minor from the day of his death and-at the time of the murder-guaranteeed that Stiny was with his sister. amie ruffner..
Amie testified that she and George met the girls on the day they died while caring for their family’s cows near the railroad tracks.
The trial resumed in 2014, and South Carolina judge Carmen Tevis Mullen declared a contradiction in the 1944 process and the illegality of the conviction.
George Stinney’s sister, Amie Lafner, in court.
The second trial did not prove George’s innocence or guilt, but the conclusions were very clear. The beam on which the murder took place weighed more than 20 kg. It was physically impossible for a little boy weighing 45 years to pick it up and use it as a weapon.
Catherine StinyGeorge’s sister celebrated the decision. She said, “How can they think that such a small child could commit such a crime? I hope they find a real murderer.” rice field.
In 2019, George Stinney’s story became a movie along with a movie 83 days, From Director Andrew Paul Howell. The feature film has won various awards at film festivals for its raw life story.
Source: Clarin