South Carolina's Child Execution

South Carolina's Child Execution

From True Crime Reports by Al Jazeera

June 29, 2025 · 34 min · Season 1 · Episode 13

About this episode

This episode explores the case of George Stinney Jr., a 14-year-old executed in 1944, highlighting systemic failures in the US justice system regarding race.

In 1944, amid the harsh glare of Jim Crow, 14-year-old George Stinney Jr. was strapped into South Carolina’s electric chair after a trial that lasted just a single day. With no physical evidence, no defense witnesses, and an all-white jury that deliberated for ten minutes, he was convicted of murdering two white girls. Nearly seven decades later, a judge threw out the verdict. What does George’s story tell us about the US justice system and the ways it continues to fail African-Americans? In this episode: Matthew Burgess ( @MattBurgessLaw ), Criminal Defence Attorney Dr Melanie Holmes, Assistant Professor of African American Studies Episode credits: This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez. Production Managers: Bronte Baskin. Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf and Bronte Baskin. Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan. Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman. Audio editing by Alan Leer. Music composition by Tom Biddle. Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik. Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and…

People in this episode

Host: Halla Mohieddeen

Guests: Matthew Burgess, Dr Melanie Holmes

Topics covered

  • Jim Crow
  • US justice system
  • racial injustice
  • child execution
  • historical trials

Keywords

  • George Stinney Jr.
  • electric chair
  • racial injustice
  • 1944 trial
  • African American studies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Al Jazeera, AJEPodcasts

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