In 1944, 14-year-old George Junius Stinney, Jr. became the youngest person in the U.S. executed for a crime in the in the 20th century. The 5-foot-1, 95-lb. African American boy was sent to the electric chair for allegedly killing two young white girls – 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and 8-year-old Mary Emma Thames – by beating them with a railroad spike and dragging their bodies to a ditch in South Carolina.
On March 23, 1944, the two girls disappeared while riding their bicycles to go looking for flowers. As they passed the Stinney home, they asked the 7th grader and his sister, Katherine, if they knew where to find flowers called maypops. A day later, the girls were found dead with severe head wounds in a ditch of muddy water. Among the search crew was George Stinney Sr.
After the boy was arrested for the crime, the elder Stinney was fired from his job at the sawmill and his family forced to move away from the city for fear of lynchings from the angry mobs. Stinney Jr. would be left to face trial alone.
According to the police, the youth confessed to wanting sex with Betty June and as he tried to kill her friend, Mary Emma, they fought. He allegedly killed both girls with a 15-inch railroad spike which was found near the crime scene.
The confession of George Stinney, Jr. was never recorded in police files. There were even rumors that he was offered ice cream by the police if he cooperated with the confession. At trial, the youth was given a tax commissioner as a defense lawyer. His conviction and sentencing opened and closed in one day. There were no witnesses called and there is no transcript of the trial details and black people were not allowed inside the courtroom.
George Frierson, a school board member is seeking a pardon for George Stinney, Jr., although the lack of sufficient evidence and transcripts make the case difficult. Equally noteworthy, however, the prosecution’s argument was just as weak because it has no evidence to support the case.
