George Stinney

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George Stinney (1944)

George Junius Stinney Junior (born October 21, 1929 in Sumter , South Carolina , † June 16, 1944 in Columbia , South Carolina) was an American youth and victim of justice . He was executed on the electric chair at the age of 14 . He is considered to be the youngest person to face the death penalty in the United States since the beginning of the 20th century .

In 2014, his conviction for procedural misconduct was declared invalid.

Life

George Stinney Jr., who was African American , was convicted of the murder of two white girls. Until recently, the case was considered extremely controversial , with blatant procedural deficiencies in the judiciary and in the investigation that cast serious doubts on Stinney's guilt.

On March 24, 1944, the bodies of two girls, Betty June Binnicker, age eleven, and Mary Emma Thames, age eight, were found in Clarendon County , South Carolina . Stinney was arrested the next day and charged with murder. A month after the body was found, the trial took place on April 24th at the Clarendon County Courthouse. After the jury was chosen , the trial started at 12:30 p.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m. The jury returned with a guilty verdict after just ten minutes of deliberation. According to the criminal law of the state of South Carolina at that time people were considered as adults from the age of 14 years. Stinney was therefore sentenced to death by the electric chair. The execution was carried out on June 16, 1944, less than three months after the act, at the Carolina State Penitentiary in Columbia, South Carolina.

The verdict against Stinney was overturned in December 2014 by a court in South Carolina coram nobis . According to Judge Carmen T. Mullen, the confession used in the original trial is implausible and most likely obtained. According to the judge, Stinney did not receive a fair trial and was thereby violated his constitutional rights.

In art

The Stinney case was the basis of the novel Carolina Skeletons by David Stout, which received the Edgar Allan Poe Award for the best first work.

Carolina Skeletons was filmed in 1991 with the title Carolina Skeletons or The End of Silence (German title Das Ende des Schweigens ). This film adaptation was directed by John Erman and the young actor Kenny Blank (today's name: Kenn Michael) portrays the 14-year-old Linus Bragg, who is referred to as George Stinney Jr. in his artistic name. Louis Gosset Jr. can also be seen in this film. Kenny Blank was nominated for the Young Artist Award for his performance .

Another film about Stinney, 83 Days , is being produced by Pleroma Studios and is slated to be directed by Charles Burnett . Ted Levine , Danny Glover and Carl Lumbly will also star in this film. As of January 2019, the film is in post production .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Campbell Robertson: South Carolina Judge Vacates Conviction of George Stinney in 1944 Execution. In: The New York Times, December 17, 2014 (accessed December 18, 2014).
  2. ^ Ron Brinson: George Stinney trial is a reminder of justice not served . In: The Post and Courier , January 24, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  3. ↑ Jenni Pompi: Bowie's Pleroma Studios Launches New Film Project . In: Bowie Patch , June 26, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  4. ^ Kristin Braswell: Film to Explore George Stinney, Jr. Execution . In: Ebony , February 28, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014. 
  5. ↑ Full cast of 83 Days on the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3073982/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
personal data
SURNAME Stinney, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stinney, George Junius Junior
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American victim of miscarriage of law
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Sumter , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1944
Place of death Columbia , South Carolina