George Stinney Jr. became the youngest person ever to be executed by electric chair in the United States when he was just 14 years old, but 70 years later, he is formally acquitted of his suspected crime.

George, was sentenced to death in 1944 after being charged with the murder of two girls; Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma Thames, 7.

The two girls were reportedly last seen riding their bikes in Alcolu, South Carolina, when they stopped to ask George and his younger sister Aime if they knew where to find any "maypops". , the yellow fruit of passion flowers.

George's father was among those who searched for the missing girls and the next day their bodies were found in a ditch, with multiple head injuries.

When police learned that the girls had been seen talking to George, they went to his home, handcuffed him and questioned him without his parents, without a lawyer or any witnesses, according to All That's Interesting.

Police claimed George had admitted to killing the two girls and he later underwent a trial that lasted only two hours. A court-appointed lawyer did not call any witnesses to the rostrum and did not present any evidence to cast doubt on the prosecution case against George.

There was no physical evidence against the 14-year-old, but the review lasted less than 10 minutes and the jury found him guilty of murder.

Protesters asked Gov. Olin Johnston to have mercy on the young man, but efforts were in vain and he was executed on June 16, 1944.

70 years later, the 14-year-old is acquitted. The lawyers of his brothers and sisters, Aime Ruffner, Katherine Robinson and Charles, launched a petition for the decision to be overturned and in 2014 his murder sentence was overturned.

His siblings have claimed that his confession was forced and that he was with Aime watching the family cow when the killings took place. In the published news, it is noted that the girls who lost their lives were "white" and George, a man of color.

"When the police came and took George from his house, none of the parents were there," Aime told The Guardian.

Following the release of the murder sentence, Judge Carmen T. Mullen described the death sentence as a 'great and fundamental injustice'.

George's sister, Katherine, said the acquittal felt "like a cloud just gone."

"When we got the news, we were sitting with friends… I raised my hands and said, 'Thank you, Jesus!' Someone had to listen. "This is what we have been looking for all these years," she said.

Source: Unilad