Today would have been George Stinney's 92nd birthday but due to false allegations of murder, he was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed by the State of South Carolina four months shy of his 15th birthday in 1944.
Great writing. Heart breaking. Thank you for honoring him by sharing his story and your change of heart re: the death penalty. When I clerked in the 4th Cir, I was the unofficial, "Death Penalty Law Clerk," in chambers, seeking to desperately determine if the appeals submitted provided ANY grounds for relief. In my one year of serving, I found one--a miscarriage of justice for a Black man in NC. Two years after my term ended, the 4th Cir. heard the case, en banc, and vacated his death sentence, remanding the case back to the lower court.
Such a sad and evil story of racism and injustice. The TV movie Carolina Skeletons was based on this.
Great writing. Heart breaking. Thank you for honoring him by sharing his story and your change of heart re: the death penalty. When I clerked in the 4th Cir, I was the unofficial, "Death Penalty Law Clerk," in chambers, seeking to desperately determine if the appeals submitted provided ANY grounds for relief. In my one year of serving, I found one--a miscarriage of justice for a Black man in NC. Two years after my term ended, the 4th Cir. heard the case, en banc, and vacated his death sentence, remanding the case back to the lower court.