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The youngest child executed in America

Two girls walked off into the woods and never came back. A 14-year-old black boy was executed for their murder three months later. This is the story of George Stinney Jr.

Given a trial that only lasted two and a half hours

On March 22, 1944, two little girls in Alcolu, South Carolina left home looking for flowers. When they turned up dead the next morning, people in the town quickly had a scapegoat in mind. Alcolu, like most towns in the South during the 1940s, was segregated and had deep racial tension. 14-year-old Stinney was arrested. Officers said he confessed to the murder of 7-year-old Mary Thames, and the rape and murder of 11-year-old Betty Binnicker. An all-white jury convicted him of 2 counts of first-degree murder.

Rushed into the system

“They deliberated for 10 minutes. And then on June 16, 1944, they executed them. This stuff is still happening. It didn't just happen in 1944, this didn't just happen with Emmett Till and, you know, and Medgar Evers then and all these others that this is still happening today. There is a pattern of systematic injustice that is going on has been going on in this country and has been hidden for a long, long time. So, the hope is in telling the story that we can we can we can kind of introduce the reality of it is we've been hiding as a country behind it for a long time,” Ray Brown, Jr -- filmmaker, 83 Days tells Brut.

Stinney is the youngest American to be executed by the state

Activists allege that he was railroaded by authorities. His conviction was overturned by a federal judge — in 2014. Since 1973, more than 165 people wrongfully sentenced to death have been exonerated. Over half have been black according to the DPIC. Brown says the recent killings of black teens like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice indicate that 75 years later the criminal justice system is still not addressing the concerns of minorities.

Brut.

01/06/2020 12:57 PM
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1888 comments

  • Tiffany L.
    7 hours

    Each time I see this boys face , especially the one he seating on that chair with an iron cap on his head with tears dropping on his cheeks ...I feel like killing every white racist I see !! God knows why he created so many men without any souls !! I will never understand why will make you take the life a person because of his color ..

  • Jos C.
    12 hours

    Great country...no change since 1944.

  • Ellis K.
    18 hours

    Smh and look on bigger man committing crimes of this stort or worst and they dont give them the chair sigh.....may is soul rest in peace.....couldn't watch it all!

  • Liz W.
    a day

    This just made me cry at they injustice my tears can't bring him back but you would like to think America could change for the better.

  • John K.
    2 days

    Quite sad

  • Hilda V.
    2 days

    So evil

  • Max F.
    2 days

    Evil must come to light.

  • Curt D.
    2 days

    Wow 😯 so sad 😞 I pray that God handles them fools for doing that to that po child 🙏🏾

  • Beverly W.
    2 days

    Whoever killed the little girls.was among the people who blamed this boy... scapegoat indeed.. liars still blaming brown people for their sins against*'GOD"*

  • Toni M.
    3 days

    These is the green mile. 🤬🤬🤬

  • Jim C.
    3 days

    What makes this sadder is the white people of the town ran his family out of town and George was left alone during his trial and his family never seen him alive again can you imagine what this boy felt when he was put in that electric chair

  • Casey F.
    4 days

    Who's up to take the title and be the next champ?

  • Thomas R.
    5 days

    This was a horrific murder. The only question I have is who did it? The way this is presented is that we are suppose to believe that white people are so evil that they will execute an innocent black boy and let the real monster go free.

  • Bovo L.
    5 days

    Didnt they investigated his case and it turned out he was innocent all along..... poor boy

  • Scarlett M.
    6 days

    i dont believe he murdered those girls but a grown white man did he was accused

  • Deborah A.
    7 days

    So wrong and so heartbreaking

  • Bummi O.
    7 days

    Crimes of white ppl. The evil that that race has committed against black ppl only God can forgive them just sad. A 14 year old put to death is just unbelievable to phantom...

  • Raines C.
    7 days

    😥😥

  • David H.
    07/06/2020 16:37

    Young lad didn’t have a chance!

  • Patience P.
    07/06/2020 12:46

    The States should compensate all those black men who were wrongfully convicted and killed.$5m at least