The case of a 14-year-old boy who was sentenced to death in 1944 for allegedly murdering two girls was overturned because it appeared he was not granted a fair trial.
George Stinney Jr. was convicted by an all-white jury in 1944, a time where racial segregation still existed in most of the United States.
Judge Carmen Tevis Mullen said Wednesday that she was overturning the teen's conviction because it appears he was not granted a fair trial, which is unconstitutional, reported Reuters. She said her decision was in no way based on his merits.
"From time to time we are called to look back to examine our still-recent history and correct injustice where possible," Mullen wrote in her ruling. "I can think of no greater injustice than a violation of one's constitutional rights, which has been proven to me in this case by a preponderance of the evidence standard."
Stinney was accused of killing Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma Thames, 7, who were last seen riding their bicycles to pick wildflowers on March 23, 1944, reported Reuters. They were found the next morning in a ditch with their skulls smashed.
When Stinney was arrested in connection with the crime he confessed within a few hours, but Mullen's ruling suggested the confession to white police officers was "likely coerced." He was convicted by an all-white jury after a one-day trial and a 10-minute jury deliberation. Stinney died in an electric chair less than three months after the alleged murder.
The 14-year-old was the youngest person executed in an electric chair in the U.S. in the last century.
Stinney's sister Amie Ruffner, 77, said in January that he couldn't have killed the girls because he was with her that day.
"This is something that's been weighing on them for seven decades now," Stinney family attorney Matthew Burgess, said to Reuters. "They are happy to hear that their brother has been exonerated."
