During the Jim Crow era in the southern United States, authorities arrived at the home of 14-year-old George Stinney Jr. in Alcolu, a racially divided mill town in South Carolina, in March 1944. Unfortunately, George’s parents were not present at the time. His younger sister sought refuge in the family’s chicken coop behind their house, watching as law enforcement officers apprehended George and his older brother, Johnnie, before handcuffing them and leading them away.
The Execution of George Stinney Jr
The state of South Carolina executed a young black boy named George Stinney Jr., who was only 14 years old, in 1944. He couldn’t afford a proper defense because he was poor. Many years later, it was discovered that he was not given a fair trial, and his conviction was reversed. The sad part is that George’s electric chair execution was made more difficult by his small size in comparison to the equipment used for the execution.
There have been numerous instances of injustice in the history of the United States, and such injustices continue to occur today. Some of these cases are so obvious that they continue to stand out even after nearly a century.
George Stinney Jr., who was only 14 years old when he was executed in the Electric Chair, is one such case. When George walked to the death chamber, a Bible was placed beneath him to raise his height so that the upper part of the chair could fit properly on his head. It is a deeply disturbing and poignant reminder of his tragic and unequal treatment.
The trial of George Stinney Jr. lasted only two hours. He wasn’t allowed to call any witnesses to help prove his innocence during that time. The lawyer he was assigned did not even question the cops. Despite this, a white jury quickly sentenced him to death. George attempted to appeal, but his requests were ignored. He was treated as if he were guilty from the start. His life appeared to be unimportant to the American justice system. However, after nearly 70 years, his conviction was overturned because his rights were violated.
George Stinney Jr. was raised in a close-knit family that included his father, George Stinney Sr., mother, Aime Stinney, an older brother, a younger brother, and two younger sisters. They lived in a small South Carolina town where railroad tracks divided the community based on race. George Sr. worked at the local mill and struggled to provide for his family.
The mill company that owned the Mill provided the Stinney family with a modest home. The White and Colored Communities in their town had little interaction, with even churches segregated. Two white girls happened to pass by the Stinney house one day while looking for “maypops,” a type of flower.
In March 1944, George Stinney Jr.’s sister witnessed an incident. George Stinney Sr. discovered the bodies of two missing girls in a ditch after they went missing. Stinney Jr.’s older brother and Stinney Jr. were then arrested. They later released the brother, accusing Stinney Jr. of mur*dering both girls.
Surprisingly, no concrete evidence linked George Stinney Jr. to the crime. By depriving Stinney Jr. of food and offering it to him as a bribe to confess to the mur*ders, the police used unethical tactics. He’d been physically abused and was terrified for his life, with the constant threat of lynching hanging over him.
Stinney Jr., according to the police, revealed the location of a blunt metal object, which they presented as the mur*der weapon. Similar pieces of metal were commonly found in the mill town, and it is likely that it was simply thrown into the ditch where the girls were discovered. If the metal piece had been present from the beginning, it would have been collected as evidence.
Despite the lack of evidence linking Stinney Jr. to the crime, the coroner, who was close to the girls, played a significant role in urging his prosecution. Stinney Jr.’s teacher claimed that he had acted violently at school and even scratched a girl with a knife. This statement, however, raises questions because there was no official record of such an incident or any punishment meted out to Stinney Jr. Furthermore, the police put pressure on the vulnerable African American community, compelling them to make statements.
His defense counsel made no meaningful effort to defend him, allowing an unfairly biased court to convict him. The lawyer was running for political office and had no desire to challenge the system. Surprisingly, the attorney did not even file an appeal on George’s behalf.
Instead, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) petitioned for clemency on George Stinney Jr’s behalf. Mr. Johnston, the Governor of South Carolina, responded in a troubling manner. “It may be of interest to you to know that Stinney k*illed the younger girl with the intent of raping the older one,” he said. He raped the older girl’s lifeless body after ki*lling her. He later attempted to rape her again after twenty minutes, but her body had become too cold. All of these actions, he confessed himself.”
It’s unlikely that George Stinney Jr. ever admitted to any of those heinous details. Given the unjust behavior of the justice system in this case, it is far more likely that the police made up those details in order to “solve” the case quickly. Several decades later, a member of the coroner’s family confessed to the kil*lings of the girls at their bedside.
Regrettably, after his execution, George Stinney Jr.’s burned remains were returned to his family. The police threatened them with being lynched and gave them less than 24 hours to leave town. This is the perplexing path “justice” took on that fateful day in 1944.
Regrettably, after his execution, George Stinney Jr.’s burned remains were returned to his family. The police threatened them with being lynched and gave them less than 24 hours to leave town. This is the perplexing path “justice” took on that fateful day in 1944.
The exoneration of George Stinney Jr. came too late to save his young life. Sometimes, history does provide justice, albeit belatedly, but in this case, justice only came in the form of a name being cleared. It is a tragic fact that George Stinney became the youngest person to be executed by the United States in the 20th century.
