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 Jr. was arrested.
Police claimed he had confessed to the murders during an
interrogation—but:
He was just 14 years old and was questioned alone without a lawyer, parent, or witness present. No written or signed confession was ever produced, just the word of the officers. His family was forced to flee town under threat of violence. George Stinney, Jr. was left alone to face the full weight of the state.
April 24–27, 1944
On April 24, a grand jury indicted George for first-degree murder. Just three days later, on April 27, his entire trial lasted less than a day. His court-appointed defense attorney called no witnesses and made no real defense. The all-white jury deliberated for just 10 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
George was sentenced to death.
No physical evidence was ever presented. The conviction
rested solely on the unrecorded, unverified confession of a frightened child.
June 16, 1944
Only 83 days after the murders, George Stinney Jr. was
executed by electric chair.
He was so small, just 5 feet tall and 95 pounds, that he had to sit on a Bible to fit into the chair. The oversized death mask reportedly slipped off his face during the execution. He died alone. His family wasn’t allowed to visit beforehand.
2004–2013
Decades later, interest in George’s case began to grow. His siblings maintained his innocence, and legal experts began reexamining the case. Civil rights activists, historians, and attorneys pushed for a retrial, arguing that George had received none of the protections even basic justice requires.
December 17, 2014
After a new hearing earlier that year, Judge Carmen Mullen
vacated George Stinney Jr.’s conviction. She ruled that George's constitutional
rights were "violated in the most fundamental ways."
The trial had
been “a great injustice” and he had not received a fair trial by any standard. 70
years after his execution, George was officially exonerated.
The story of George Stinney Jr. is not just history. It’s a
reflection of how easily justice can be denied when bias, fear, and racism rule
the courtroom. His case remains a symbol of the dangers of unchecked authority,
and a heartbreaking reminder that even a child can become a victim of a system
built to silence the vulnerable.
George Stinney Jr.
wrongful convictions
racial injustice
civil rights
Black history
American history
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