Women who were victims of discrimination in history, black people, those who had to hide their sexual orientation and many others thought that these meaningless discriminations and oppressions would disappear in the 20th-21st century. But we still see them around today. The George Stinney case, which went down as a black mark in US history only 78 years ago, revealed how clumsy humanity was in leaving the issues we talked about.
At just 14 years old in 1944, George Stinney became one of the youngest victims of racism in the United States. The fact that Stinney, who was found guilty in just 10 minutes, was innocent came to light 70 years later. So how did Stinney’s story develop, which inspired important productions such as the Green Mile movie? Let’s look at his tragic story together.
It all started in March 1944 in Alcou, South Carolina, with two little girls searching for flowers:
11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and 7-year-old Mary Emma Thames was looking for flowers while she was riding her bike. When the two girls saw Stinney and her sister Aime, they went up to them and asked where they could find the flowers.
This was the last place to hear from the girls. And then?
During the search operations, in which Stinney’s father was also involved, the dead bodies of the girls were found in a pit. Both had blows on the head as if they had been struck repeatedly with a hammer. Since they were last seen talking to Stinney, the authorities headed towards Stinney’s house.
His family was not at home at the time:
Handcuffed with his older brother, Stinney became the sole focus of the authorities with his brother’s release. He was interrogated in a small room, without a lawyer and without his family. In other words, a 14-year-old unaware of anything was under pressure in a small room with the authorities harshly attacking him. But the job did not end there.
Although no concrete source was available, police said Stinney confessed to his guilt. All authorities prosecuted Stinney based on a confession without proof:
It started after 1 month. From a present-day perspective, Stinney’s lawyer, Charles Plow, who was chosen by the court, was a hopeless case. There was nothing the lawyer did. He had hardly taken any action, such as calling witnesses or presenting evidence.
On the other hand, what others trusted with their eyes closed was a confession without proof.
Stinney’s trial took 2 hours. The jury debate to decide whether he is guilty is only 10 minutes…
- George Stinney (second from right)
Stinney, who could not see, was found guilty by the decision of the all-white jury after 10 minutes of debate. The story, which has managed to darken one’s heart even up to this point, has now become even worse.
Stinney was sentenced to death for first degree murder:
On June 16, 1944, Stinney was taken to the execution chamber of the South Carolina State Penitentiary to be executed in the electric chair. But it wasn’t even tall enough for a chair. For this reason, books were placed under it. Stinney was tied to a chair in front of the witnesses in the room, wearing loose-fitting clothes as it was designed for adults and a mask that covered his whole face because he was small.
He was asked if he had any last words. His reply was “No sir”. After that…
Exactly 2,400 volts of electricity was delivered to Stinney’s body. Meanwhile, his mask, which was too big for his face, fell, and the witnesses were horrified by the sight they saw. Stinney’s body was electrocuted twice in 8 minutes and he died.
In 2004, a historian named George Frierson started investigating the case
- Frierson at the point where Stinney was talking to the girls
After obtaining some evidence, he was convinced that Stinney was innocent. First of all, there was a small amount of blood in the pit where the girls were located, indicating that they had been killed elsewhere. It was also unlikely that a 14-year-old boy could carry two bodies for 400 meters.
- Translation: Wrongfully tried, illegally executed by South Carolina. The verdict was annulled by a court decision dated 16 December 2014
Apart from that, his sister also stated that Stinney was at home. By 2014, Stinney’s litigation process was seen as unfair and unjust. In this context, his name has been cleared. Although they are happy to see this day before their sister died, there is one fact that will never be erased from their minds:
It took 10 minutes for a group of adult men to sentence a 14-year-old boy to death without any proof. But it took 70 years before the boy was found to be innocent.
References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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