Judge Overturns A 14-Year-Old’s Murder Conviction – 70 Years Too Late

George Stinney, Jr. was only 14 years old when he, a black resident of Alcolu, South Carolina, was convicted in 1944 of murdering two white female children. ?He isn’t alive to celebrate the Dec. 17, 2014 announcement of the overturn of his conviction, however, and not just because of the long 70 years it took for this justice. Stinney was executed only 81 days after the arrest.

(Image source: South Carolina Dept. of Archives and History)
(Image source: South Carolina Dept. of Archives and History)

In today’s announcement, Judge Carmen Mullins ruled that there was lack of evidence in the trial, and that Stinney wasn’t provided adequate representation in the courtroom, either.

“Given the particularized circumstances of Stinney’s case, I find by a preponderance of the evidence standard, that a violation of the Defendant’s procedural due process rights tainted his prosecution.”

The murder victims were reportedly last seen speaking to Stinney and his sister, and were later found dead from blunt head wounds. After the boy was arrested by local police on that ?last seen with? basis alone, Stinney’s father was fired from his job at the local lumber mill, and his family was forced to flee the town due to threats.

In a trial less than one month after the arrest, prosecutors offered no evidence and no witnesses, only claiming that Stinney confessed to police officers. A court-appointed attorney did not question those officers during the trial, and offered no arguments aside from the young man’s personal testimony of innocence. The two-and-a-half-hour trial was concluded by an all-white jury’s deliberation of only 10 minutes. Less than two months later, the young and small Stinney had to use a bible as booster seat to fit in the electric chair that took his life.

The questionable arrest, trial, and conviction was kept tucked away in the small town of Alcolu until George Frierson, a town historian, took interest in details he found in 2004. Frierson’s research, which included rumor of a death-bed confession from a wealthy white resident of the town, interested attorney Steve McKenzie, who re-opened the case in 2013 by filing a motion for new trial.

Stinney was the youngest person executed in the U.S. in the 20th Century.

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I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.