Horrifically Mysterious

  In the small town of Alcolu, South Carolina, in 1944, a 14-year-old Black boy named George Stinney Jr. was convicted and executed for a crime he almost certainly didn’t commit. He remains the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century. His story is a chilling reminder of the deep racial injustices embedded in the American justice system. Here’s a look at how quickly this injustice unfolded.   March 23, 1944 Two young white girls, Betty June Binnicker (11) and Mary Emma Thames (7), were riding their bikes through the segregated town of Alcolu when they encountered George Stinney Jr. and his younger sister, Aime. The girls asked where they could find a certain type of flower and then rode off. Later that day, both girls were found brutally murdered in a ditch near the railroad tracks. They had been struck in the head with a blunt object—likely a piece of metal or a railroad spike.   March 24, 1944 The very next day, George Stinney ...