Stinney Jr.

Childhood is such a gift. The fact that at one point you were a child is just amazing. From poor family or a well off family you just found a way of enjoying your childhood. When you had no heartaches because of oil and gas prices. You didn’t even care about prices because... why would you? You got scars that became lessons and good memories as well. When I was a child my mother wanted me to be a pilot and our pastor used to call me Doctor. I didn’t know what I wanted to become but my father wanted me to be who I want to be. All is well because I’m here being what I didn’t intend to be but it’s all working well. God’s plan you know… Childhood is fragile. In my reference books childhood to some capacity defines who you become.

This might be scary!

Story Story

In 1929 when my grandfather was having his 5^th birthday party a couple living in the mill town of Alcolu, South Carolina were proudly blessed with a baby boy. They were blacks, African Americans. They lived in a humble company squatter where the area in which blacks and whites lived was separated by railroad tracks. Blacks had no much for themselves then. They were just mere slaves who were exchanged for firearms and textiles.

George Stinney Jr. was born; he was my grandfather’s peer, I could be marrying his granddaughter in a few years to come, who knows? He had a younger sister Aime Stinney, probably 8 when he was 14. He was 5 feet 1-inch-tall and weighed about 95 pounds when he was 14. I guess he was a school boy and probably in class 8 as I was at 14 if at all there was class 8 in the US,1944. Or rather he was like my grandfather who at 14 was yet to start schooling.

In a normal day Stinney Jr. would hang around the hood with his sister possibly looking after his father’s cow. Back then 14 years was considered the year of responsibility. A 14-year-old then was like an 18-year-old in Kenya today.

One cool day when their parents were at work Stinney Jr. and his sister Aime were looking after their cow in the neighbourhood, they were approached by two young girls riding bikes. And they were like, ‘Hi Stinney, could you possibly have any idea where we could get some wild flowers and Maypops?’ Maypops are yellow edible fruits from passionflowers. Stinney had no idea so they proceeded on and that was the last time Mary Emma Thames, 7 and Betty June Binnicker, 11 were seen alive.

This prompted a search by the members of the neighbourhood where Stinney Snr. Was also involved. The next day the bodies of the two girls were found in a soggy ditch in a farm. Later in the day George Stinney Jr. was arrested and accused of murder of two white girls after a witness said they were seen talking to stinney.

He was alleged to have confessed murdering Thames and Binnicker. Other than this supposed confession there was neither any other physical evidence nor a witness to testify to his guilt.

There was no clear sign of struggle from either of the girls as reported by Dr. Asbury Cecil Bozard, but they had multiple head injuries.  Thames had a hole straight through her forehead deep into her skull. Binnicker suffered several blows to her head, the back of her head was all a mass of crushed bones. Must have been a very horrible scene.

George stinney was held in police custody for weeks not allowed to see anyone, only a cellmate perhaps. Not his parents, no Attorney nor a witness. There were rumours that the two girls were seen at a prominent white family home on the same day, but it was clear that the police were not looking for a white murderer.

The police claimed that the 14-year-old confessed killing the two girls after they denied his attempt to have sex with them. An officer named H.S Newman wrote a statement and said the 14-year-old told them where to find the bodies of the girls. He further concealed the location where Stinney was detained.

A month later the trial of George Stinney began at Clarendon county court house. Charles Plowden, a court appointed Attorney did close to nothing to defend his client. He even failed to call witnesses to present any evidence that would bring doubt to Stinney’s accusation. The only evidence was the alleged confession. No record of him confessing the murder. Poor little boy was helpless. By the time of his trial he had not seen his parents and still could not see them. For the fear of being attacked by a white mob, his family could not go to the court house. Poor Stinney was surrounded by up to 1500 strangers all against him.

In a trial that lasted 2hrs, it took a 10-minute deliberation from a group of white male jury to find George Stinney Jr., 14 guilty of first degree murder of two girls. The court didn’t hear his appeal and was sentenced to death by electrocution by Judge Philip H. Stoll. There was protest for the government to grant Stinney clemency based on his young age. Letters were written by Stinney’s cohorts appealing for fair judgement and concept of Christian justice all which were equal to zero effort in the end.

In the cold uncanny evening of June 16 1944. Stinney walked into the execution chamber with a bible tucked under his arm. It was in the middle of Jim Crow era. I feel like there were light showers of rain and maybe an owl was hooting somewhere. I feel like tears were gathered all over his eyes dropping in pain as he mentioned someone he loved in his heart. Or perhaps he was panic stricken that all he could think of is where he would be in the next few minutes. Hell or Heaven. You can’t take this, can you? Especially if deep down you’re as sure as the death that awaits you that you’re innocent. I would have asked God never to forgive them.

Poor Stinney strapped on an electric chair too big for him, it was trouble adjusting an electrode to his right leg. He was covered with a huge mask on his face and a metal mantle on his head. Horrible moment, coming face to face with your death. Just a matter of seconds to go to the land of no return. For nothing! Where no one knows what next. Feels like a fairy tale? or a movie where you expect Redington to send Dembe to call someone he knows?

His last words were “No Sir” when he was asked if he had any last words or anything to say concerning the murder he was alleged to have committed. The switch released a 2400 volts of electricity into Stinney’s body and the mask jumped off his face. His teary eyes bulged out as saliva exuded from his mouth for all to see. Stinney died at 7.30pm that day, just after two more jolts. All this took 4 minutes. And I guess they were happy. He was buried at Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery, Columbia, South Carolina.

A man named Wilford who happened to be Stinney’s cellmate said he denied murdering the two girls. Stinney said he did not do it. 70 years later Matt Burges and Steve Mckenzie set out to clear his name. Burges was skeptical and wondered how a 14-year-old could beat to death two girls, one being almost his size. And drag their bodies into a ditch. He wondered how he did this in the middle of the afternoon without attracting any attention. In 2014 judge Carmen Mullins cleared Stinney Jr.’s name claiming violation of constitutional rights leading to unfair trial.

In Alcolu it has since then been rumoured that the murderer of the two girls was a white man George Burke Jr. a 26-year-old whose father owned the land where the two girls were found. His father Burke Sr. served as a foreman of the coroner’s inquest jury that recommended stinney to be held for murder. Burke Jr. died 3years later from chronic kidney complicating and confessed to the murders on his death bed. The family however denied this.

Echoes of this past can still be felt when black teenagers known as the exonerated five were coerced into false confession, watch this movie “when they see us”

And many more…

My heart bleeds for Geroge Stinney Jr. I would have married his granddaughter who knows?