George Stiny is the youngest child to be sentenced to death in the United States. He was just 14 years old when he was tied to an electric chair and electrocuted. George was accused of killing two white farm girls, one of whom was named Betty. The other girl was named Mary, who was 7 years old.
George was charged with murder because the bodies of the girls were found near his home.
During the interrogation of the case, the boy brought the Bible in his hand and placed his hand on it, swearing that he was innocent and that he had not committed the murder. At that time, all the lawyers in the court were white. He did not take the case because it was a black form. Similarly, the judge of the court also had a white form and according to him there was no room for mercy on a black form.
The trial lasted only two hours, and George was sentenced to death just ten minutes later.
The child’s parents were threatened and intimidated. They had brought gifts for their child and they were also prevented from meeting the child and giving him gifts.
George’s parents were deported after the case was decided.
Before his death, George was locked in a cell for 81 hours. He was held in a prison 80 kilometers from his home where the most heinous criminals were held.
George was struck in the head by 5380 volts, from which he died in a few moments.
George’s parents and George’s other siblings shed many tears over his innocent death, but they fought a legal battle.
Seventy years later, George was acquitted in a South Carolina court.
The iron rod with which the girls were killed weighed more than 19 kilograms. It was impossible for George alone to lift such a heavy iron and kill the girls with such force that they would die.
Someone accused him just because he was black.
The incident impressed Stephen King so much that he plotted his famous book, The Green Mile, based on it, and made several plays in American theaters based on the events set out in the book in 1999.
