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The Child in the Electric Chair : The Execution of George Junius Stinney Jr. and the Making of a Tragedy in the American South
A foreword is provided by Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita at Baruch College at the City University of New York and author of several books including Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant.
At 7:30 a.m. on June 16, 1944, George Junius Stinney Jr. was escorted by four guards to the death chamber. Wearing socks but no shoes, the 14-year-old Black boy walked with his Bible tucked under his arm. The guards strapped his slight, five-foot-one-inch frame into the electric chair. His small size made it difficult to affix the electrode to his right leg and the face mask, which was clearly too large, fell to the floor when the executioner flipped the switch. That day, George Stinney became, and today remains, the youngest person executed in the United States during the twentieth century.
How was it possible, even in Jim Crow South Carolina, for a child to be convicted, sentenced to death, and executed based on circumstantial evidence in a trial that lasted only a few hours? Through extensive archival research and interviews with Stinney's contemporaries—men and women alive today who still carry distinctive memories of the events that rocked the small town of Alcolu and the entire state—Eli Faber pieces together the chain of events that led to this tragic injustice.
The first book to fully explore the events leading to Stinney's death, The Child in the Electric Chair offers a compelling narrative with a meticulously researched analysis of the world in which Stinney lived—the era of lynching, segregation, and racist assumptions about Black Americans. Faber explains how a systemically racist system, paired with the personal ambitions of powerful individuals, turned a blind eye to human decency and one of the basic tenets of the American legal system that individuals are innocent until proven guilty.
As society continues to grapple with the legacies of racial injustice, the story of George Stinney remains one that can teach us lessons about our collective past and present. By ably placing the Stinney case into a larger context, Faber reveals how this case is not just a travesty of justice locked in the era of the Jim Crow South but rather one that continues to resonate in our own time.
A foreword is provided by Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita at Baruch College at the City University of New York and author of several books including Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant.
At 7:30 a.m. on June 16, 1944, George Junius Stinney Jr. was escorted by four guards to the death chamber. Wearing socks but no shoes, the 14-year-old Black boy walked with his Bible tucked under his arm. The guards strapped his slight, five-foot-one-inch frame into the electric chair. His small size made it difficult to affix the electrode to his right leg and the face mask, which was clearly too large, fell to the floor when the executioner flipped the switch. That day, George Stinney became, and today remains, the youngest person executed in the United States during the twentieth century.
How was it possible, even in Jim Crow South Carolina, for a child to be convicted, sentenced to death, and executed based on circumstantial evidence in a trial that lasted only a few hours? Through extensive archival research and interviews with Stinney's contemporaries—men and women alive today who still carry distinctive memories of the events that rocked the small town of Alcolu and the entire state—Eli Faber pieces together the chain of events that led to this tragic injustice.
The first book to fully explore the events leading to Stinney's death, The Child in the Electric Chair offers a compelling narrative with a meticulously researched analysis of the world in which Stinney lived—the era of lynching, segregation, and racist assumptions about Black Americans. Faber explains how a systemically racist system, paired with the personal ambitions of powerful individuals, turned a blind eye to human decency and one of the basic tenets of the American legal system that individuals are innocent until proven guilty.
As society continues to grapple with the legacies of racial injustice, the story of George Stinney remains one that can teach us lessons about our collective past and present. By ably placing the Stinney case into a larger context, Faber reveals how this case is not just a travesty of justice locked in the era of the Jim Crow South but rather one that continues to resonate in our own time.
A foreword is provided by Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita at Baruch College at the City University of New York and author of several books including Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant.
176 pages, Hardcover
Published June 25, 2021
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August 4, 2021
The Child in the Electric Chair : The Execution of George Junius Stinney Jr. and the Making of a Tragedy in the American South
by Eli Faber
My god, what a heartbreaking, horrible thing to happen to a child! No one knows if he really did the crime or not! The cops lied, changed and added to the lies, then added more lies to put him so deep into the white public eye that he was dead even if the jury let him go!
He was bit of a terror as a kid, liked fighting, not minding his mom, and bullying others but that is a long way from crushing skulls of small girls. He was small too.
This book tells of other black people that were tormented or lynched! Who are these crazy people? The Proud Boys ancestors? After little George was arrested, the whole black section of town was abused.
Very disturbing history! Tragic! I would hope that today this child would get help for his anger. That a fair trial would see he did not do this! He would not be tried as an adult. That he would have lawyers that wanted to win!
(This made me so depressed! I need a good cry and ice cream.) It won't bring him back but I hope more people will read about this child and his injustice!
by Eli Faber
My god, what a heartbreaking, horrible thing to happen to a child! No one knows if he really did the crime or not! The cops lied, changed and added to the lies, then added more lies to put him so deep into the white public eye that he was dead even if the jury let him go!
He was bit of a terror as a kid, liked fighting, not minding his mom, and bullying others but that is a long way from crushing skulls of small girls. He was small too.
This book tells of other black people that were tormented or lynched! Who are these crazy people? The Proud Boys ancestors? After little George was arrested, the whole black section of town was abused.
Very disturbing history! Tragic! I would hope that today this child would get help for his anger. That a fair trial would see he did not do this! He would not be tried as an adult. That he would have lawyers that wanted to win!
(This made me so depressed! I need a good cry and ice cream.) It won't bring him back but I hope more people will read about this child and his injustice!
November 6, 2025
3.5 stars
The Notes at the back of a book, are there out of correct writing necessity, but worthless to all but those who want to track down the information given in said book. However, there are a few - and I mean really FEW books - that really do have relevant information within the Notes section to the lay person - the story reader. This is one such book. I believe I gained as much of the story from the Notes section as I did from the writing.
In after thought, I really don't believe that much has actually changed in our judicial system since this case in 1944 - almost 100 years ago. The coverage of a case like this may have changed - but for the good - ahhh, not sure. The outcome of the case may have changed, depending on how the child was prosecuted, adult or juvenile, but also due to the few new laws put in place since 1944. Other than that - I don't see much change in our system. Uneducated, overworked, bribe-able coroners. Court appointed defenders are still over worked and often their only recourse for having been given yet another case is lack of fortitude in actually defending the accused. Governors, prosecutors and judges, given they are also overworked, are still more concerned with their next election process than with the cases put in front of them. Laws and appeals are still man initiated and woefully lag in implementation. Investigators, detectives and law enforcement officials can still be very narrow minded, one sided, overworked and jump to the conclusion that the first person they suspect IS the criminal and being allowed to lie to get the verdict they want. And you don't want me to start on the unequal treatment of a Black person, either then in 1944 or today in 2025. I don't see 81 years of change.
So the book - the arrest, trail for murder and execution of a black 14 year old boy in the state of South Carolina in 1944. The youngest person executed in the United States in the twentieth century. The trial lasted all of one afternoon - approximately 4 hours - to convict a murderer. From the crime to execution was 85 days - no appeals filed. No help from the NAACP. (National Association of the Advancement for Colored People) No lawyer present when arrested and coerced into a confession. None of the family allowed to visit during the arrest, trial or retaining of the child, not even on the day of execution.
Unbelievable - yes. But dig into some past cases and compare them to current cases. I highly doubt that you will find a large difference in who is accused, how they are treated and what means are used to find that conviction. Almost one hundred years and still not much change.
The Notes at the back of a book, are there out of correct writing necessity, but worthless to all but those who want to track down the information given in said book. However, there are a few - and I mean really FEW books - that really do have relevant information within the Notes section to the lay person - the story reader. This is one such book. I believe I gained as much of the story from the Notes section as I did from the writing.
In after thought, I really don't believe that much has actually changed in our judicial system since this case in 1944 - almost 100 years ago. The coverage of a case like this may have changed - but for the good - ahhh, not sure. The outcome of the case may have changed, depending on how the child was prosecuted, adult or juvenile, but also due to the few new laws put in place since 1944. Other than that - I don't see much change in our system. Uneducated, overworked, bribe-able coroners. Court appointed defenders are still over worked and often their only recourse for having been given yet another case is lack of fortitude in actually defending the accused. Governors, prosecutors and judges, given they are also overworked, are still more concerned with their next election process than with the cases put in front of them. Laws and appeals are still man initiated and woefully lag in implementation. Investigators, detectives and law enforcement officials can still be very narrow minded, one sided, overworked and jump to the conclusion that the first person they suspect IS the criminal and being allowed to lie to get the verdict they want. And you don't want me to start on the unequal treatment of a Black person, either then in 1944 or today in 2025. I don't see 81 years of change.
So the book - the arrest, trail for murder and execution of a black 14 year old boy in the state of South Carolina in 1944. The youngest person executed in the United States in the twentieth century. The trial lasted all of one afternoon - approximately 4 hours - to convict a murderer. From the crime to execution was 85 days - no appeals filed. No help from the NAACP. (National Association of the Advancement for Colored People) No lawyer present when arrested and coerced into a confession. None of the family allowed to visit during the arrest, trial or retaining of the child, not even on the day of execution.
Unbelievable - yes. But dig into some past cases and compare them to current cases. I highly doubt that you will find a large difference in who is accused, how they are treated and what means are used to find that conviction. Almost one hundred years and still not much change.
April 1, 2021
This is a very good book on this subject, which is rather timely at the moment, with a trial for former policeman Derek Chauvin just beginning in the killing of George Floyd. Sadly, its a very hot topic in our country, and has been for several years now, with many other killings of young black men by police officers that have happened.
The author gives a thorough recounting of the event, the times, and what was going on by interviewing people connected with the incident. There were just no newspaper stories on the killing at the time to get information from. Advance electronic review copy was provided by Edelweiss, authors Eli Faber and Carol Berkitt, and the publisher.
The author gives a thorough recounting of the event, the times, and what was going on by interviewing people connected with the incident. There were just no newspaper stories on the killing at the time to get information from. Advance electronic review copy was provided by Edelweiss, authors Eli Faber and Carol Berkitt, and the publisher.
March 10, 2023
This was exactly what you expect it might be when you first walk up to it and see the cover and read the title. In 1944, 14-year-old George Stinney Jr. is accused of killing two younger girls. Compared to today's standards, the trial was the blink of an eye - the jury deliberated for less than ten minutes, and Stinney was sentenced to be electrocuted. From the time of the murders until the execution itself, less than three months had elapsed. In case it isn't obvious from the start, and certainly from the rapid time frame, the convicted murderer was black, and the two girls were white.
There is a very good amount of evidence to suggest that Stinney, who was convicted on the strength of a coerced confession, could very well have been innocent. But Faber, who died shortly before the book was finished and ready for publication, took the higher ground - if such a thing exists - and dedicates the research and writing to the miscarriage of justice subjected to young Stinney. Drawing on interviews from over the decades (there were very few court records, and no trial transcript), as well as the prevailing racial winds blowing across the southern United States as seen through far too many similar cases, Faber paints a bitter picture of racial hatred, racial distrust, and the all-too-familiar lynch mobs that remained a staple in the south, even in the mid 1940s.
There are plenty of surprises here. The inaction of pre-SCOTUS Thurgood Marshall's NAACP, which didn't appear to be particularly interested in either funding efforts to overturn the conviction in the face of judicial malpractice from start to finish was especially jarring and unexpected. Additionally, Marshall's apparent refusal to encourage local and national traditional black newspapers to spread the word on the injustice leaves the reader with a good deal of questions. A human life taking the back burner to the political motivations of those involved was also particularly egregious - again, especially given that this was 1944, and not 1884.
There are some who complain about the overabundance of seemingly unrelated facts thrown in, particularly about the rise of the political power of the NAACP and some very gruesome stories of lynchings through the ages. I think all of what we are presented with provides the context we need to help us arrive at our own conclusions. Faber is careful to also not pull any punches when it comes to Stinney; while it's clear he doesn't believe the child was capable of committing the murders, he certainly alludes to the fact that it's not outside the realm of possibility or plausibility, pointing to a number of potentially damaging incidents that led up to the murders. No effort was made to put Stinney on a pedestal, an angel for us to pity on that account.
I would highly recommend the book to those interested in this part of our history, and to clearly add to the recent number of books that further offer the historical context of where we are today in our unnecessarily fragile race relations. Not an easy read - there significant portions of text that relate to savage events through the centuries, as well as troubling details of the murders themselves.
I have to deduct part of a star for the audio version of the book that I listened to. Beresford Bennett is an excellent narrator - I've enjoyed a number of books he reads for us. But his forte is not in accents. He was called on many times to provide quotes from southern white men and women, and the latter in particular gave him trouble. At the risk of sounding uncharitable, I have to say that the voices coming out of the speaker, unfortunately, struck me as more Amos and Andy caricatures than what I'm sure Bennett was striving for. No disrespect intended, but it both distracted and detracted from the rest of the performance.
There is a very good amount of evidence to suggest that Stinney, who was convicted on the strength of a coerced confession, could very well have been innocent. But Faber, who died shortly before the book was finished and ready for publication, took the higher ground - if such a thing exists - and dedicates the research and writing to the miscarriage of justice subjected to young Stinney. Drawing on interviews from over the decades (there were very few court records, and no trial transcript), as well as the prevailing racial winds blowing across the southern United States as seen through far too many similar cases, Faber paints a bitter picture of racial hatred, racial distrust, and the all-too-familiar lynch mobs that remained a staple in the south, even in the mid 1940s.
There are plenty of surprises here. The inaction of pre-SCOTUS Thurgood Marshall's NAACP, which didn't appear to be particularly interested in either funding efforts to overturn the conviction in the face of judicial malpractice from start to finish was especially jarring and unexpected. Additionally, Marshall's apparent refusal to encourage local and national traditional black newspapers to spread the word on the injustice leaves the reader with a good deal of questions. A human life taking the back burner to the political motivations of those involved was also particularly egregious - again, especially given that this was 1944, and not 1884.
There are some who complain about the overabundance of seemingly unrelated facts thrown in, particularly about the rise of the political power of the NAACP and some very gruesome stories of lynchings through the ages. I think all of what we are presented with provides the context we need to help us arrive at our own conclusions. Faber is careful to also not pull any punches when it comes to Stinney; while it's clear he doesn't believe the child was capable of committing the murders, he certainly alludes to the fact that it's not outside the realm of possibility or plausibility, pointing to a number of potentially damaging incidents that led up to the murders. No effort was made to put Stinney on a pedestal, an angel for us to pity on that account.
I would highly recommend the book to those interested in this part of our history, and to clearly add to the recent number of books that further offer the historical context of where we are today in our unnecessarily fragile race relations. Not an easy read - there significant portions of text that relate to savage events through the centuries, as well as troubling details of the murders themselves.
I have to deduct part of a star for the audio version of the book that I listened to. Beresford Bennett is an excellent narrator - I've enjoyed a number of books he reads for us. But his forte is not in accents. He was called on many times to provide quotes from southern white men and women, and the latter in particular gave him trouble. At the risk of sounding uncharitable, I have to say that the voices coming out of the speaker, unfortunately, struck me as more Amos and Andy caricatures than what I'm sure Bennett was striving for. No disrespect intended, but it both distracted and detracted from the rest of the performance.
February 17, 2024
I was expecting more of a true crime book but this is more an examination of the Jim Crow South than it is of the trial and execution of George Stinney Jr. No transcripts are in existence and I was never convinced of the innocence of the 14-year-old boy.
Two young girls were brutally beaten to death in 1944. One was seven and the other one eleven at the time of the murders. George Stinney Jr was five-foot-one and ninety-five pounds.
The boy confessed to the crime and admitted to a sexual assault on the older girl. Medical exams showed that neither girl had been raped, as both were "intact." The county was seventy percent Black but an all White jury convicted George in under one hour and he was put to death eighty-three days later in an electric chair. Within the same time period, a teenaged White boy was spared the death sentence for a similar murder.
The researchers relied primarily on the now elderly sisters of George and their inconsistent memories do not vindicate him. Whether he was guilty or not of the crime, he should not have been executed at such a young age. A life sentence would have been just punishment.
Two young girls were brutally beaten to death in 1944. One was seven and the other one eleven at the time of the murders. George Stinney Jr was five-foot-one and ninety-five pounds.
The boy confessed to the crime and admitted to a sexual assault on the older girl. Medical exams showed that neither girl had been raped, as both were "intact." The county was seventy percent Black but an all White jury convicted George in under one hour and he was put to death eighty-three days later in an electric chair. Within the same time period, a teenaged White boy was spared the death sentence for a similar murder.
The researchers relied primarily on the now elderly sisters of George and their inconsistent memories do not vindicate him. Whether he was guilty or not of the crime, he should not have been executed at such a young age. A life sentence would have been just punishment.
April 4, 2022
STAFF PICK 📚🙂
Caprice Harris is a Library Assistant at the Crisfield Library. She highly recommends "The Child in the Electric Chair : The Execution of George Junius Stinney Jr. and the Making of a Tragedy in the American South" by Eli Faber.
"Sad, disturbing and tragic, yet, this is still timely and a book that I highly recommend! George Stinney Jr. was a 14 year old, 95 pound black boy who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electric chair without a fair trial. This book was well researched and written, so kudos to the author! However, while reading this book I’m sure you will experience a range of emotions.
⚠️Just a warning, this read is very graphic as well!" -Caprice
Download this title on Hoopla here: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/1...
Caprice Harris is a Library Assistant at the Crisfield Library. She highly recommends "The Child in the Electric Chair : The Execution of George Junius Stinney Jr. and the Making of a Tragedy in the American South" by Eli Faber.
"Sad, disturbing and tragic, yet, this is still timely and a book that I highly recommend! George Stinney Jr. was a 14 year old, 95 pound black boy who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electric chair without a fair trial. This book was well researched and written, so kudos to the author! However, while reading this book I’m sure you will experience a range of emotions.
⚠️Just a warning, this read is very graphic as well!" -Caprice
Download this title on Hoopla here: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/1...
September 12, 2023
This book was well written and researched. It breaks my heart for him and the girls that died. The fact that he was questioned without a lawyer or his parents was outrageous. We have to wonder how many of the things he said were told to him and as a frightened child he agreed in hopes of going home. This book does not say whether he is innocent and leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions.
June 4, 2022
This book has a horrific historical event to tell. What an incomprehensible catastrophic moment in time. Heart hurts after this read.
December 4, 2023
In June 1944 Georgia Stinny, a fourteen-year-old black boy was accused of murdering Betty June Binniker and Mary Emma Thames ages 11 and 7 respectively. Both victims were white. What followed was a speedy trial in front of an all-white jury using flimsy evidence and a poor defense for the accused. The verdict was an all but forgone conclusion and Stinney was sentenced to death by electrocution at the age of 14. This made Stinny the youngest person ever to be executed in South Carolina. The miscarriage of justice in this trial is an all too familiar theme in the history of the Jim Crow South. What makes this case different is Stinny’s age and the public outcry over a child being sentenced to death.
The Child In The Electric Chair is a short book describing the events of the case. While the book goes into the facts of the case and the trial proceedings, it does not dwell on it. This is partly because many of the court records were lost. Rather the book looks at why this miscarriage of justice happened at all. Each chapter deals with a different question. Starting with the general state of race relations in Alcou, South Caroline before the murders, later chapters look at the lack of action by the state and national NAACP as well as the motivations of the governor not to commute Stinny’s sentence to life in prison despite heavy pressure from inside and outside the state. The book concludes with a recent reexamination of the case.
This book is a detailed researched and highly readable account of a tragic miscarriage of justice and another forgotten story from our nation's segregationist past.
The Child In The Electric Chair is a short book describing the events of the case. While the book goes into the facts of the case and the trial proceedings, it does not dwell on it. This is partly because many of the court records were lost. Rather the book looks at why this miscarriage of justice happened at all. Each chapter deals with a different question. Starting with the general state of race relations in Alcou, South Caroline before the murders, later chapters look at the lack of action by the state and national NAACP as well as the motivations of the governor not to commute Stinny’s sentence to life in prison despite heavy pressure from inside and outside the state. The book concludes with a recent reexamination of the case.
This book is a detailed researched and highly readable account of a tragic miscarriage of justice and another forgotten story from our nation's segregationist past.
December 22, 2022
It is clear the trial and execution of this 14 year old boy was a travesty of justice. But the book felt of more like a sociological analysis than the telling of his story. The facts of the murder, the search, the discovery of the bodies, the lynching threat, the "confession," the trial, etc weren't told in a straight as-they-happened timeline format - probably because no one could provide that. Much of the few details were told by family or cops several decades later. Very little detail is given even of the trial because there was no trial transcript. So I found it hard to get emotionally caught up in the story.
The author seems to believe the child's death really resulted from political considerations rather than concerns about his actual guilt or innocence. His lawyers put on no defense because they had political aspirations. The main cops involved were running for re-election or higher office. The governor wouldn't intervene because he was running for US senators and subsequently was elected. The NAACP didn't get involved because they had more important political concerns on their agenda and had inadequate resources. It was easy to become angry that so many people put politics ahead of justice and a child's life. Same as it ever was.
The author seems to believe the child's death really resulted from political considerations rather than concerns about his actual guilt or innocence. His lawyers put on no defense because they had political aspirations. The main cops involved were running for re-election or higher office. The governor wouldn't intervene because he was running for US senators and subsequently was elected. The NAACP didn't get involved because they had more important political concerns on their agenda and had inadequate resources. It was easy to become angry that so many people put politics ahead of justice and a child's life. Same as it ever was.
August 18, 2025
This short book shines a light on an all but forgotten American tragedy, the 1944 execution of 14 year old George Stinney for the morder of two little white girls. There can be no question that Stinney did not receive a fair trial; his defense was inadequate. Nonetheless, he was executed and even the NAACP seemed indifferent to his fate.
Historical documentation of this incident was sorely lacking, as records either never existed or were destroyed. The author pieces together all the elements of this sad tale as best he can, but there remain massive holes in the story, including whether or not Stinney was actually guilty.
A useful document of the criminal justice system in the rural 1940s South, but not exactly compelling reading. Still, worthwhile for someone interested in the subject.
Historical documentation of this incident was sorely lacking, as records either never existed or were destroyed. The author pieces together all the elements of this sad tale as best he can, but there remain massive holes in the story, including whether or not Stinney was actually guilty.
A useful document of the criminal justice system in the rural 1940s South, but not exactly compelling reading. Still, worthwhile for someone interested in the subject.
March 21, 2023
A well researched book about how Jim Crow affected the lives of African Americans in the South and more importantly les to the death of 14 year old George Stinney. The prose is straight forward so it is not the most exciting read but in many ways that style provides the power to the narrative. This book should make you angry as you read about how the legal system and individuals failed this young man with the result that he was executed in the electric chair.
January 13, 2022
While reading this book I experienced a range of emotions - shock, disgust, anger and sadness are just a few of them. All I can say is I do believe that one day you do have to account to how you lived your life on earth and there are many who played a role in this tragedy that have a lot of explaining to do. One day I pray we have no more racism or prejudice in this world.
Read
June 23, 2024Embarrassing that I lived in South Carolina for 24 years and never heard of this child…there’s so much we aren’t taught. Faber and his co-author do a great job of not trying to determine if the child was innocent or guilty, but whether his case was treated fairly by the court system (surprise to no one - it wasn’t).
July 2, 2025
How? Why? What the…look, I get that this stuff happened and happened regularly, but when I read it, it is so abhorrent and indescribable that I feel like I’m reading some sort of sci-fi book about a people that I can’t understand. What a terrible tragedy that is all too familiar and applicable.
December 12, 2021
Incredibly sad, disturbing and tragic. Yet, this is still timely and a book that I recommend highly. A 14 year old, without a fair trial should never have been put to death with the electric chair. It’s a timely reminder of the south and the times we live in today.
Read
February 4, 2022Heartbreaking account of injustice to a child.
June 12, 2022
A little too academic for my taste. It got too bogged down in things like the history of the town.
October 20, 2024
Worth reading to understand the racist environment in the Southern States, particularly in concert with a number of other books covering events in the South from Reconstruction to modern times.
August 10, 2021
3.5 rounded up
The Child in the Electric Chair is crushingly sad and tragic. I liked that there was a bit of discussion about wider systemic racism beyond this case though I wish there had been more. The mindset behind executing a Black boy for a crime he clearly did not commit just to satisfy white mobs is unimaginable, yet we see that it has transformed and taken on a new face in the modern era. The systems (and people!) that failed George Junius Stinney Jr. and his family are still here today.
Content warnings for: wrongful conviction and imprisonment, murder via state sanctioned execution, murder of children, descriptions of crime scenes and executions, discussion of child rape.
The Child in the Electric Chair is crushingly sad and tragic. I liked that there was a bit of discussion about wider systemic racism beyond this case though I wish there had been more. The mindset behind executing a Black boy for a crime he clearly did not commit just to satisfy white mobs is unimaginable, yet we see that it has transformed and taken on a new face in the modern era. The systems (and people!) that failed George Junius Stinney Jr. and his family are still here today.
Content warnings for: wrongful conviction and imprisonment, murder via state sanctioned execution, murder of children, descriptions of crime scenes and executions, discussion of child rape.
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