18.01.2021.
African-American George Stini Jr. is the youngest person sentenced to death in the 20th century in the United States. He was only 14 when he was executed in an electric chair. During the trial, until the day of the execution, he always carried the Bible in his hands, claiming his innocence.
He was accused of killing two white girls, Betty, 11, and Mary, 7, whose bodies were found in 1944 near the house where the teenager was staying with his parents. At that time, all jurors were white. The trial lasted only 2 hours, and the sentence was handed down 10 minutes later. ⠀
His parents were threatened and then expelled from the city. Prior to the execution, George spent 81 days without being able to see his parents. He was detained in solitary confinement, 80 km from his hometown. He was questioned alone without the presence of his parents and lawyer, in violation of guaranteed constitutional rights. He was burned with a current of 5,380 volts, which was passed through his body.
Seventy years later, his innocence was finally proved by a judge in South Carolina. The metal bar that killed the two girls weighs more than 19 kilograms, so it was impossible for Stini to lift it, let alone be able to swing hard enough to kill the two girls.
Stini was innocently charged and sentenced to death just because he was black. Inspired by this case, Stephen King wrote the novel "Green Mile", which was transformed into the famous 1999 film.
