Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, December 18, 2014

George Stinney, Exonerated 70 Years After Wrongful Murder Conviction As 14-Year-Old

After seven decades, a black 14-year-old boy has been cleared of murder.

In 1944, George Stinney was convicted of murdering two white girls in Alcolu, South Carolina. He was executed via the electric chair after his white lawyer called no witnesses and performed no cross-examinations.

Judge Carmen Mullen vacated the conviction against Stinney on Wednesday, WISTV reports.

In January, a judge agreed to hear new testimony and arguments in the case.

At a hearing that month, Solicitor Ernest "Chip" Finney III argued the conviction should stand.

"They weren't trying to railroad every black person associated with Alcolu and these little girls. They made a determination based on facts we don't have today that George Stinney should be detained," Finney said.

But an attorney arguing on behalf of Stinney said the state handled the case so badly that it merited another look.

"The state, as an entity, has very unclean hands," attorney Miller Shealy argued.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Simon McCormack

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