Let those who seek the implementation of capital punishment be informed that execution manifests as a consequence rooted in ideologies of fascism and racism. In the event of its imposition, you shall be the first to face the gallows.
GEORGE STİNNEY:
He wept as he approached the electric chair; echoes emanated from within, his thoughts occasionally murmured to himself. We interrupted the current, restoring electricity after a quarter of an hour... whether God acknowledges or despises me remains uncertain.
George Stinney Jr., of African descent, stood as the youngest individual condemned to death in the United States during the 20th century. Undoubtedly, his ethnicity played a significant role in this tragic fate.
Born on the 21st of October, 1929, George was the progeny of George Stinney Sr. and Aime. The family, consisting of two brothers and two sisters, dwelled in accommodations provided by the company where his father worked.
Merely 14 years old, George met his demise in the electric chair. Throughout his trial and even on the day of his execution, he clutched a Bible, maintaining his plea of innocence.
Crime:
Accused of the murder of two Caucasian girls, 11-year-old Betty and 7-year-old Mary, whose lifeless forms were discovered in a trench near the Stinney family abode. Stinney's father assisted in the search for the victims. The girls had suffered brutal beatings with a metal implement while seeking flowers near Stinney's residence. They had conversed with George Stinney Jr. and his sister, inquiring about the location of flowers.
Stinney and his brother Johnny were apprehended on suspicion of murder. Johnny was released, but Stinney remained in custody without access to his family. The investigating officer claimed, "I apprehended a 14-year-old boy named George Stinney Jr. He confessed and disclosed the location of the murder weapon, a piece of iron, which he stated he had placed in a ditch approximately six feet from his bicycle." No signed confession statement from Stinney is on record.
Trial:
During this era, all jurors were of Caucasian descent. The trial concluded within a mere two hours, with his sentence pronounced after a brief ten minutes.
The parents of the young boy were cautioned, barred from the courtroom, and subsequently ejected from the city.
Before George faced execution, he endured 81 days in solitary confinement, devoid of contact with his parents.
Confined in a specialized cell 80 miles from his hometown, the 14-year-old African American struggled alone, with neither family nor legal representation by his side.
Under the charge of the death row guard, Smith, who administered 5,380 volts to his head, the initial attempt lacked damp sponges. Subsequently, a wet sponge was applied to revitalize George's semi-animate body. At that moment, the 14-year-old's life of affliction, maltreatment, and torment met its conclusion.
Seventy years later, a South Carolina judge ultimately affirmed his innocence. The boy was unjustly accused; someone sought his execution solely due to the color of his skin.
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