He was so small that a Bible had to be used to boost him up in the electric chair. Seventy years after his execution, a judge would formally rule that his trial had violated his most basic rights.
Who Was George Stinney Jr.
George Stinney Jr. was born October 21, 1929, in Alcolu, South Carolina, one of five children in a Black family in the segregated Jim Crow South. His father worked for the local lumber mill that provided the family's company housing.
The Crime
On March 23, 1944, two white girls, 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and 7-year-old Mary Emma Thames, went looking for flowers near the Stinney family's home and spoke briefly with George and his sister. The girls were later found dead in a ditch, having been beaten to death.
The Arrest and "Confession"
George, then 14, and his older brother were arrested on suspicion of the murders; his brother was released, but George was held, separated from his family, and interrogated alone by police with no attorney or parent present. Investigators claimed he confessed and led them to a discarded piece of iron rebar they said was the murder weapon. No signed confession statement has ever been produced or found.
The Trial
George's trial took place before an all-white jury and lasted about two hours; the jury deliberated for roughly 10 minutes before convicting him. His court-appointed attorney called no witnesses and mounted essentially no defense. His parents were barred from the courtroom and, according to accounts of the case, were run out of town by threats amid the case's intense local outrage.
Execution
George Stinney Jr. was executed in South Carolina's electric chair on June 16, 1944, at age 14, becoming the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century. Accounts of the execution describe him as so small for the equipment that an adult-sized Bible was used to help adjust his height in the chair. He maintained his innocence throughout, reportedly carrying a Bible with him through his trial and up to his execution.
A Posthumous Exoneration
In December 2014 -- 70 years after his execution -- South Carolina Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen formally vacated George's conviction, ruling that his trial had violated fundamental due process protections, including the denial of effective counsel and a coerced, unrecorded confession obtained from a frightened 14-year-old held without his family present. The ruling did not determine who actually committed the murders; it found only that George's conviction could not stand given how thoroughly his legal rights had been violated.
FAQ
How old was George Stinney Jr. when he was executed?
14 years old, making him the youngest person executed in the US in the 20th century.
Was he ever exonerated?
Yes. In 2014, a South Carolina judge vacated his conviction, finding his original trial had violated his fundamental legal rights.
Does the exoneration mean he was proven innocent?
Not exactly -- the ruling focused on the trial's constitutional failures rather than definitively identifying who committed the murders, though many who have studied the case believe he was innocent.