Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The man credited with helping to clear the name of South Carolina's youngest man to be executed spoke about the experience.
Historian George Frierson III talked to a group about his efforts and why he began fighting to clear 14-year--old George Stinney's name almost thirteen years ago.
Stinney, who was black, was convicted in 1944 for the murder of two white girls after a murder trial that lasted just two hours and a conviction that took two minutes. Stinney was executed by electric chair less than three months after the trial. No written confession was presented, no witnesses testified for the defense, and no transcript of the brief trial was made.
Last year, he was cleared of the crimes and his conviction was vacated 70 years after he was executed. The judge ruled that he had not been given a fair trial; he had no real defense and his Sixth Amendment rights had been violated.
Previous Coverage: Teen's Conviction Thrown Out After 70 Years | Judge Explains Decision in Stinney Case
Frierson, who like Stinney is from Alcou, South Carolina, spoke about the case and said he realized he only knew what other people said, so he started to look into it.
"I always wanted to be a lawyer so I know law. In conjunction with that, I said oh, no, this here is not going to stand. So around 2002 I started researching this case and getting a group around me, a group called a New Day, and our purpose was to see if we could get it cleared."
Frierson says he hopes his story will show others that you can do anything you put your mind to.
