Mock-up images of items to be included in Tyler the Creator’s Golf drop for fall 2018 have been revealed and among offerings is a t-shirt paying homage to George Stinney Jr., a black American teenager who was wrongfully convicted of murder and executed at the age of 14 in 1944.
Born in Alcolu, South Carolina, Stinney was found guilty after a two-hour trial in which the all-white jury took less than 10 minutes to hand down their decision. The victims were two white girls: 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and seven-year-old Mary Emma Thames.
After he was arrested, the police alleged he confessed to the crime though there is no written record of his confession other than notes taken by an officer who questioned him without his parents present. During the trial, his lawyer didn’t call any witnesses nor did he cross examine the state’s witnesses.
His appeal was denied and he was executed by electric chair at age 14, making him the youngest person to be executed in the United States in the previous hundred years. At five-feet-one-inches tall, Stinney was too small to fit properly on the electric chair and a bible had to be used as a booster seat.
In 2014, Stinney’s family members appealed the decision and Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen chose to vacate Stinney’s conviction. The judge didn’t rule on his guilt or innocence, but stated he wasn’t fairly represented or tried.
Tyler won’t be the first to feature Stinney’s image on a t-shirt though because of his fame, the concept has received some push back in the comment section of the Instagram account where the shirt was revealed.
One person who is claiming to be related to Stinney wrote, “Relative of George who’s photo you’re using here. Hopefully you’ll tell his story and not just use the photograph to further push your agenda, Hopefully you reached out to Katherine Stinney to get this approved.”
Check out the comment from the alleged family member below, along with some other Golf mock ups. The Golf store is currently on hiatus and Tyler hasn’t said when it will reopen.
