On June 16th, 1944, the United States put to rest the youngest person ever to be subjected to the death penalty.
George Junius Stinney Jr. was only 14 when he was arrested and charged for allegedly murdering an 8 and an 11-year -old duo of white girls with a large railroad spike.
The sheriff at the time said Stinney admitted to the killings, but there is only his word — no written record of the confession has been found. A lawyer with the case figures threats of mob violence and not being able to see his parents rattled the seventh-grader.
RELATED:
The Death Penalty: The Numbers Up Close State To State
Al Sharpton: “Time For Feds And Not States To Try Death Penalty Cases”