Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)
“Over 67 years after 14-year-old George Junius Stinney Jr. was put to death by the state of South Carolina, he may soon be cleared of the crime that people familiar with the case say he never could have committed.
A lawyer and an activist both told Raw Story recently that new evidence will show that the black boy could not have possibly murdered two white girls, 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and seven-year-old Mary Emma Thames…
These are the opening paragraphs to an article published on RawStory this morning. Reading the entire piece is heartbreaking. The picture of the child’s mugshot drives the stake even further into one’s chest as you peruse the piece.This murder was committed in the name of United States Citizens.
The story explains that there was no evidence found that linked this child to the murders of two white girls. I think the most horrifying part of the piece was the description of the actual execution:
“…Stinney, the youngest person to receive the death penalty in the last 100 years, was executed on June 16, 1944. At five feet one inch and only 95 pounds, the straps of the electric chair did not fit the boy. His feet could not touch the floor. As he was hit with the first 2,400-volt surge of electricity, the mask covering his face slipped off, “revealing his wide-open, tearful eyes and saliva coming from his mouth,” according to author Joy James… .”
What does it say about a country/system that would do something so horrific to a child? Yet, it happened and the white community in the small South Carolina town allowed it to happen. Why did they allow it to happen?Look no further than our Constitution to understand why.
If a black person was only viewed as “three fifths of all Persons” then one would have no problem in extinguishing that non-person. The people/system that murdered George Junius Stinney did not see him as a person or as a valid human being. He was relegated to the same stature of an animal brought to slaughter.
There is still no transcript or no evidence showing that this little boy committed this crime.
“…The trial was over two hours after it began. A jury of twelve white men deliberated for 10 minutes before convicting Stinney. Plowden later told the judge that there was nothing to appeal, and the Stinney family could not afford to continue the case. A one-sentence notice of appeal would have automatically stayed the case for a year… .”
I have decided to write about this to draw attention to this case because I am sure it will not be covered by any in the MSM today or moving forward.
We have an African-American President and day in and day out people of all races who support him have to watch him being delegitimized in blatant disrespectful terms. Since the “three fifths of all Persons”language has not been removed from our Constitution one must assume that those in the Republican/Tea Party, and some on the far left who still see him as the “magic negro” have internalized the words of this sacred document.
I migrated here from the Caribbean many years ago but my eyes were never opened to the state of race in this country until I married an African-American man. His stories and his daily experiences have enlightened me on many levels.
It is good to hear that there are people out there like “Attorney Steve McKenzie told Raw Story that he has no doubt this case was an injustice”
Let us hope that this little boy will be cleared in death. Black talk show host Tom Joyner sums it up best by saying:
“It’s good for the community,” radio show host Tom Joyner, who had two great uncles that were also executed for the crime, told CNN. “It’s good for the nation. Anytime that you can repair racism in this country is a step forward.”
Ditto.
Published at RaceTalk.com October 10, 2011
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