Willie Francis

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Willie Francis (born January 12, 1929 in St. Martinville , Louisiana ; † May 9, 1947 ibid) was an American sentenced to death who survived an electrical execution .

In 1944 the pharmacy owner Andrew Thomas was murdered in St. Martinville , Louisiana. The suspicion fell on Willie Francis, his black, almost 16-year-old employee. During an interrogation, police said Francis carried Thomas' wallet with him. No evidence has been presented in court to support this claim.

In a written statement, Francis confessed to the murder. At the time of the written confession, the underage Francis had no legal counsel. When asked about his motives, Francis wrote: "It was a secret about me and him." ("It was a secret between me and him"). The meaning of this statement is unclear. Research by the book author Gilbert King found evidence of sexual abuse of Francis by Thomas.

In court, Willie Francis's public defenders failed to appeal and / or call witnesses who could exonerate their client. Francis was sentenced to death by an all-white jury after just two days of trial.

Francis was due to be executed on May 3, 1946. However, he survived his electric chair execution . He reportedly shouted under the leather hood that had been pulled over his head, “Take it off! Let me breathe! "

Afterwards there was a debate as to whether Francis should be considered executed or not. However , Francis lost the trial before the US Supreme Court (Francis vs. Resweber). He was executed on May 9, 1947 at 12:05 p.m. local time.

literature

  • Gilbert King: The Execution of Willie Francis. Race, Murder, and the Search for Justice in the American South. Basic Civitas, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-465-00265-8 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  • Arthur S. Miller, Jeffrey H. Bowman: Death by Installments: The Ordeal of Willie Francis. Greenwood Press, New York 1988, ISBN 0-313-26009-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gilbert King: The Two Executions Of Willie Francis. In: washingtonpost.com/. July 19, 2006, accessed on December 25, 2019 : “Francis had been convicted of murdering a St. Martinville pharmacist. The trial lasted a little more than a day, and the bulk of the evidence against him was based on a confession obtained without counsel present "
  2. ↑ The Teenager Who Was Executed Twice. In: todayifoundout.com/. September 28, 2012, accessed on December 25, 2019 (English, written confession from Willie Francis): "I Willie Francis now 16 years old I stole the gun from Mr. Ogise (the deputy" August "Fuselier) at St. Martinville La . and kill Andrew Thomas November 9, 1944 or about the time at St. Martinville La it was a secret about me and him. I took a black purse with card in it four dollars in it. I all so took a watch on him and sell it in new Iberia La. That all I am said I throw gun away .38 Pistol "
  3. ↑ Gilbert King: 1947: Willie Francis, this time successfully. In: executedtoday.com/. May 9, 2009, accessed on December 25, 2019 : “The prosecution based its entire case on a confession obtained while Willie was in police custody without the aid of a lawyer. In this confession, Willie wrote, "it was a secret about me and him," which was never explained "
  4. ↑ Gilbert King: The Execution of Willie Francis. Basic Civitas, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-465-00265-8 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  5. ↑ Daniel Rennie: This Teenager Went To The Electric Chair Twice - But Was He Really Guilty? In: allthatsinteresting.com. April 30, 2018, retrieved on December 23, 2019 (English): "Appallingly, Francis' lawyers did not cross-examine witnesses even though the evidence against Francis was dubious at best."
  6. ^ The Double-Execution of Willie Francis: Louisiana, 1946. In: truecrimeandcoffee.com. January 24, 2019, accessed on December 23, 2019 (English): “The jury was composed of twelve white men; due to Louisiana being disenfranchised at the time, black men and women were unable to vote, therefore they could not serve on a jury. "
  7. ↑ Jürgen Martschukat: History of the death penalty in North America. From the colonial times to the present (=  Beck'sche series 1471 ). CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47611-2 , p. 117 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  8. ↑ Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber (No. 142)
personal data
SURNAME Francis, Willie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American temporary survivor of an official execution
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Martinville , Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1947
Place of death St. Martinville , Louisiana