January 22, 2014 -- Updated 2046 GMT (0446 HKT)
Almost 70 years ago, South Carolina electrocuted 14-year-old George
Stinney. Family members today say he's innocent, and while they can't
bring him back, they want his name cleared. FULL STORY
New trial sought for George Stinney, executed at 14
January 22, 2014 -- Updated 2225 GMT (0625 HKT)
Seeking justice 70 years after execution
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Stinney is the youngest person to be executed by an American state since the 1800s
- According to police, he confessed to killing two girls, ages 7 and 11, in 1944
- Attorneys argued Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether there will be a new trial
A black teen in the Jim
Crow South, Stinney was accused of murdering two white girls, ages 7 and
11, as they hunted for wildflowers in Alcolu, about 50 miles southeast
of Columbia.
Stinney, according to
police, confessed to the crime. No witness or evidence that might
vindicate him was presented during a trial that was over in fewer than
three hours. An all-white jury convicted him in a flash, 10 minutes, and
he was sentenced to "be electrocuted, until your body be dead in
accordance with law. And may God have mercy on your soul," court
documents say.
Fewer than three months
after the girls' deaths, Stinney was escorted to an electric chair at a
Columbia penitentiary, built for much larger defendants. The chair's
straps were loose on Stinney's 5-foot-1-inch, 95-pound frame, and books
were placed on the seat so he would fit in the chair.
When the switch was
flipped, Stinney's body convulsed, dislodging the oversized mask and
exposing his face to about 40 witnesses, including the slain girls'
fathers, according to James Gamble, son of the Clarendon County sheriff
at the time. Gamble recalled the execution for The Herald in Rock Hill a
decade ago.
Now, attorneys for
Stinney's family are demanding a new trial, saying the boy's confession
was coerced and that Stinney had an alibi, his sister, Amie Ruffner, who
claims she was with Stinney when the murders occurred.
"We think we have the
opportunity here to make a difference and correct a wrong that's been
there for 70 years," defense attorney Matt Burgess said.
Lawyers on both sides argued Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether there will be a new trial.
The defense put up
witnesses related to Stinney and a forensic pathologist. Evidence in the
case now seems to suggest Stinney was innocent and points to various
violations of due process, Burgess said.
"South Carolina still recognizes George Stinney as a murderer. We felt that something needed to be done about that," he said.
(The police) were looking for someone to blame it on, so they used my brother as a scapegoat.
Amie Ruffner, sister of George Stinney
Amie Ruffner, sister of George Stinney
Third Circuit Solicitor Chip Finney feels differently.
"The fact of the matter
is, it happened, and it occurred because of a legal system of justice
that was in place and that, we -- for all we know, based on the record
-- that it worked properly," he said, according to CNN affiliate WIS.
It's not clear how long the hearing at the Sumter County Judicial Center will last. It will resume Wednesday.
'They used my brother as a scapegoat'
Defense attorneys also
said Stinney's former cellmate, Wilford Hunter, issued a statement
saying Stinney denied committing the crime, WIS reported.
"I didn't, didn't do it,' " Hunter recalled Stinney telling him. "He said, 'Why would they kill me for something I didn't do?' "
Ruffner, Stinney's sister, told CNN affiliate WLTX
that she and Stinney saw Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma
Thames, 7, the day they died. Stinney and Ruffner were tending to their
family's cow near some railroad tracks close to their home.
"They said, 'Could you
tell us where we could find some maypops?' " Ruffner recalled. "We said,
'No,' and they went on about their business."
The girls were found the
next day in a water-logged ditch with injuries to their head. Mary had a
2-inch laceration above her right eyebrow and a vertical laceration
over her left, according to a 1944 medical examiners' report.
"Both of these are
jagged and deep and there is a hole going straight through the cranial
cavity from the one on the forehead. The frontal bone just above the
right orbit is also definitely broken," the report says, adding there
were also two bruised, lacerated areas on top of the head that appear to
have been caused by a hammer.
"There is a punched out fracture of the skull beneath each of them," it says.
With Betty, "There were
evidences of at least seven blows on the head," which, like Mary's
injuries, appear to be the product of a "blunt instrument with a small
round head about the size of a hammer. Some of these have only cracked
the skull while two have punched definite holes in the skull. The back
of the skull is nothing but a mass of crushed bones," the report says.
While the medical
examiner noted no signs of sexual assault to Mary's body, there was some
swelling on Betty's genitalia and a "slight bruise." Both girls' hymens
were intact, according to the report.
Police would later say that Stinney confessed he wanted to have sex with Betty.
A handwritten statement
from a law enforcement officer named H.S. Newman said that after finding
the girls, "I arrested a boy by the name of George Stinney. He then
made a confession and told me where to find a piece of iron about 15
inches long were (sic). He said he put it in a ditch about six feet from
the bicycle."
I believe he got what he deserved, was put to death. He was old enough to know better.
Frankie Bailey Dyches, niece of victim
Frankie Bailey Dyches, niece of victim
A few days later,
Ruffner told WLTX, police took Stinney and another of her brothers away
in handcuffs while their parents were not at home. One brother was
released, she said, while Stinney faced police questioning without his
parents or a lawyer.
What followed, according
to Stinney's supporters, was a farce of a trial in which Stinney's
defense cross-examined no witnesses and presented no evidence or
testimony in his favor.
"(The police) were looking for someone to blame it on, so they used my brother as a scapegoat," Ruffner said.
'There wasn't ever any doubt'
But not everyone
believes Stinney's innocence is clear cut. The sheriff's son, Gamble,
for one, told The Herald in his 2003 interview that he was in the back
seat with Stinney as Gamble's father drove him to the prison in
Columbia.
"There wasn't ever any
doubt about him being guilty," he told the paper. "He was real talkative
about it. He said, 'I'm real sorry. I didn't want to kill them girls.' "
Betty Binnicker's nieces also have their doubts, they told WIS.
"I was always told George Stinney killed her," Carolyn Geddings told the station.
Added Frankie Bailey Dyches, "I believe he got what he deserved, was put to death. He was old enough to know better."
Bailey Dyches added that she feels "justice was served, according to the laws in 1944 when this happened."
Neither relative believes the push for a new trial is warranted.
"I don't think somebody
that was found guilty of a murder like he committed should be exonerated
for any reason," Geddings told WIS. "And with him being gone as long as
he's been gone, I think it's foolishness."
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