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 Vienna Maglio.
Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.
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