A Boy’s Execution, 70 Years Later Seeking Justice for George Stinney Died 1944

On March 24, 1944, George was arrested and charged with the murder of two young white girls, Betty June Binnicker and Mary Emma Thames, who were found beaten to death in a ditch in rural Clarendon County, S.C.

One month later he was tried and found guilty. He was executed on June 16, 1944 — the youngest person to be put to death in the 20th century. He was so small that the guards struggled to strap this young boy to the electric chair, and the jolt of electricity knocked the mask from his face.