Date set to review George Stinney case
theGRIO VIDEO - A hearing date has reportedly been set in the push to 'reopen' the case of the youngest person executed in the twentieth century...
A hearing date has reportedly been set in the push to ‘reopen’ the case of the youngest person executed in the twentieth century.
Fourteen-year-old George Stinney, Jr. was executed on June 16, 1944 after he was convicted of murdering two young girls in Alcolu, South Carolina.
South Carolina’s The Item first reported a judge will review a motion on January 21 of next year and either grant or deny a new trial for Stinney. The motion was filed in October and includes statements from two of Stinney’s siblings who claim he was home doing chores at the time of the murder.
TheGrio: Man claims to have shared a jail cell with George Stinney (VIDEO)
Earlier this month, a man who claims to have briefly shared a jail cell with Stinney told theGrio.com’s Todd Johnson that Stinney told him in jail he did not commit the crime. The man, Wilford ‘Johnny’ Hunter has submitted a witness affidavit to the law firm Coffey, Chandler and McKenzie, where he describes his encounter with Stinney in a Sumter County jail.Â
Hunter said Stinney looked up to him as a “big brother” for the few days they spent in jail together. His version of events, if deemed legally credible, could be very helpful in piecing together a case with an already thin paper trail.
TheGrio:Â Todd Johnson discusses the push to clear George Stinney’s name on MSNBCÂ (VIDEO)
Last week, more than 100 people rallied outside of the Clarendon County courthouse where Stinney’s trial took place in 1944. The hearing will be held at the Sumter County Judicial Center, according to Clarendon County Clerk of Court Beulah G. Roberts.
Follow theGrio.com’s Correspondent Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj
