How Many Whites in 1929 to 1944 Got the Death Penalty for Killing or Allegedly Killing Blacks “Editorial Statement” "This wasn't so long ago: Have we changed any?" George Junius Stinney Jr. (October 21, 1929 – June 16, 1944) was, at age 14, the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century. The question of Stinney’s guilt and the judicial process leading to his execution remain controversial. Stinney, who was black, was arrested on suspicion of murdering two white girls, Betty June Binnicker , age 11, and Mary Emma Thames, age 8, in Alcolu, located in Clarendon County, South Carolina , on March 23, 1944. The girls had disappeared while out riding their bicycles looking for flowers. As they passed the Stinney property, they asked young George Stinney and his sister, Katherine, if they knew where to find “maypops”, a type of flower.When the girls did not return, search parties were organized, with
