• 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls.

George Stinney


George Stinney's 1944 mug shot

Born: George Junius Stinney Jr.; October 21, 1929; Pinewood, South Carolina, U.S.
Died: June 16, 1944 (aged 14); South Carolina Penitentiary, Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death: Execution by electrocution
Resting place: Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery, Paxville, South Carolina, U.S.
Monuments: Headstone memorial in Alcolu; Three memorial crosses dedicated to Stinney and other two victims where the bodies were found
Known for: Being wrongfully executed
Criminal status: Executed (June 16, 1944; 80 years ago)
Conviction vacated (December 16, 2014)

George Junius Stinney Jr. (October 21, 1929 – June 16, 1944), was an African American boy, who at the age of 14 was convicted, in a proceeding later vacated as an unfair trial, and executed, for the murders of two young girls in March 1944 — Betty June Binnicker, age 11, and Mary Emma Thames, age 7 — in his hometown of Alcolu, South Carolina. He was convicted, sentenced to death, and executed by electric chair in June 1944, thus becoming the youngest American with an exact birth date confirmed to be sentenced to death and executed in the 20th century.

A re-examination of Stinney's case began in 2004, and several individuals and the Northeastern University School of Law sought a judicial review. Stinney's murder conviction was vacated in 2014, seventy years after he was executed, with a South Carolina court ruling that he had not received a fair trial, and was thus wrongfully executed.

{snip}

Execution


George Stinney (second to right) being led to the execution chamber

Stinney was executed on June 16, 1944, at 7:30 a.m. He was prepared for execution by electric chair, using a Bible as a booster seat because Stinney was too small for the chair. He was then restrained by his arms, legs, and body to the chair. An officer asked George if he had any last words to say before the execution took place, but he only shook his head. The executioner pulled a strap from the chair and placed it over George's mouth, causing him to break into tears, and he then placed the face mask over his face, which did not fit him as he continued sobbing. When the lethal electricity was applied, the mask covering slipped off, revealing tears streaming down Stinney's face. This perception was later contested by Terri Evans, the niece of Mary Emma Thames' mother, Lula Mae. Terri's uncle, Clyde Barnes, witnessed the execution. Barnes told Evans' father what he saw during the execution, which was then relayed to her years later. Her father stated, "He said it was just a rumor that the hood had slipped and they did not put a stack of books under him." He was buried in an unmarked grave in Crowley.

{snip}