Earlier this month in South Carolina, George Stinney's name was finally cleared. Mr. Stinney was fourteen years old when he was strapped into an electric chair and killed for a crime he didn't commit.
Mr. Stinney was charged with killing two little white girls in Alcolu, South Carolina in 1944. In the span of 83 days he was charged, tried and convicted. His appointed counsel, Charles Plowde, did everything he could to facilitate the legal lynching. Mr. Plowde failed to call Mr. Stinney's sister, an alibi witness, to the stand.
After a two-day hearing, Judge Carmen Mullen said that Mr. Stinney's case was a "truly unfortunate episode in our history."
No, Judge Mullen, a child dropping a fly ball is an unfortunate episode. A skinned knee from falling off a bike is an unfortunate episode. Spilling food on your best clothes is an unfortunate episode.
Murdering a fourteen year old child who had a confession beaten out of him is far more than an "unfortunate episode." Calling it such does nothing but cheapen the significance of what happened in the summer of 1944. What happened to Mr. Stinney is but another example of the ways in which our criminal (in)justice system has been used as a tool of social control and oppression.
A child was murdered at the hands of the state and no one was ever called to account for their actions. A jury of twelve white men considered what evidence was put before them and decided that the government had proven its case beyond all reasonable doubt. And once again we are confronted with the fact that our courts don't serve as a crucible of truth - they serve merely as a legal justification for the continued oppression of significant portions of our population.
Judge Mullen's decision does nothing to heal the damage caused to Mr. Stinney's family and friends. They knew he was innocent all along. It does nothing to change the facts. It also does nothing to erase the indelible image of a state that was so intent to enforcing social order that it would strap a teenager into an electric chair and burn him from the inside out.
And if you are under the illusion that there has been much change over the last 70 years, take a look at the population of most of our jails and prisons. Take a look at the disparity in drug sentencing. Take a look at the disparity in death sentences handed out. Take a look at the number of blacks and Latinos who languish in jail for weeks and months (and years) waiting for their criminal cases to be resolved because they can't afford to post bail.
Our criminal (in)justice system is still used as a tool of social control. The old order is desperately trying to hold onto to power and our courts are their last best tool.
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