George Stinney Jr. - A South Carolina Circuit Court judge has reversed the conviction of a 14-year-old African American teenager, who was executed in the 1940s for allegedly attacking and killing two Caucasian girls.
Judge Carmen Mullen noted that the due process of the law was not followed in George Stinney Jr.'s hearing. Besides echoing the fact that the minor's confessions may have been coaxed as he was denied the right to have his parents or guardian present when he was being questioned, Judge Carmen Mullen also noted that the teenager was not adequately represented by his assigned attorney in court.
A 29-page report on the case, which is signed by Judge Carmen Mullen says, "The Court finds fundamental, Constitutional violations of due process exist in the 1944 prosecution of George Stinney Jr. and hereby vacates the judgement."
Despite the fact that it has been about 70 years since George Stinney Jr. was convicted, and most of the people involved in the case have long died, Judge Carmen Mullen's ruling has had a big impact on the local community.
George Stinney Jr. siblings, who were interviewed by the judge while she gathered evidence about the scantily documented case, have welcomed her ruling. "I wish my mama and daddy were here to see this day," Stinney's sister Amie Ruffner says. "It was a wrongful killing. He was too young... they didn't give him a chance."
Meanwhile, relatives of his two alleged victims - Mary Emma Thames and Betty June Binnicker - have met Judge Carmen Mullen's ruling with disappointment.
George Stinney Jr. was arrested on March 23rd, 1944, shortly after police found the bodies of the two girls, who were aged 7 and 11, in Alcolu, Clarendon County. They had reportedly been attacked and struck in the head with a metal.
George Stinney Jr. was originally taken in for questioning because he was seen with the girls sometime before they disappeared. He confessed to their murder shortly after he was apprehended by the police. He had been prevented access to his parents or legal counsel during his questioning. Several advocates for the case have pointed to the fact that the Stinney's case, which lasted only a few hours, may have been biased as he was evaluated by an all-white jury.
The extent of the injustice in George Stinney Jr.'s case is highlighted even more by the fact that prison guards had to improvise to push through with his execution on an electric chair. The teenager's body frame was so small that officers found it difficult strapping him onto the chair. He was reportedly made to sit on a phone book before he could be executed.
While Judge Carmen Mullen's ruling has been welcomed by human rights activists against injustices wrought during the racially polarized civil rights era, she made it a point to note that the 'extraordinary' circumstances in George Stinney Jr.'s case may not apply to other similar cases.
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