SPORTS: USC basketball looks to top rival Clemson for 1st time with Martin at helm B1 SCIENCE
New study suggest Alcatraz escapees could have lived A6 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014
| Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894
75 cents
Stinney ruling brings welcomed closure But not all are celebrating overturned 1944 murder conviction of Alcolu teen BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com For decades now, the trial served as a haunting reminder to some, even while others maintained its veracity. A day after a judge announced she was vacating a murder conviction against George Stinney Jr., supporters of both sides of the case agree there was a rush to judgment and welcomed closure to the 70-year-old saga. Stinney, a 14-year-old black Alcolu teen, was executed in
June 1944 after a Clarendon County jury convicted him of brutally beating two white girls to death earlier that year. He was the youngest American prisoner sentenced to death in the 20th century, and a South Carolina judge this week issued STINNEY an order to vacate his 1944 conviction, noting he was not afforded due process during the court’s rush to justice.
“Everybody who looks at this case is offended,” said Ray Chandler, an attorney for the Manning law firm that filed motions to overturn Stinney’s conviction in January. “I think it’s more by the youth of the child, I think by the fact that it’s an execution and the fact that it was a very speedy trial.” The team from Coffey, Chandler and McKenzie filed a memo on behalf of Stinney’s surviving family members, who wanted to see the teen’s name cleared. The legal maneuvering led to a Jan.
21 hearing at Sumter County Judicial Center, where Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen heard the unique circumstances surrounding Stinney’s prosecution. On March 24, 1944, authorities arrested Stinney after finding the bludgeoned bodies of Betty June Binnicker, 11, and 7-year-old Mary Emma Thames, who disappeared the day before while picking flowers. Both victims’ skulls were crushed. Police took Stinney into custody and got him to con-
fess to killing the girls, something his supporters said they coerced him into doing. The teen’s trial began 31 days later in Clarendon County. There was no physical evidence that tied Stinney to the slayings, no murder weapon brought forth, and Stinney’s lawyers never cross examined the state’s witnesses. Prosecutors practically relied solely on the defendant’s confession, and the defense also did not present a case of its own during
SEE STINNEY, PAGE A8
Santa’s Village at Swan Lake Elves, left, watch as the Sterling Stars from Miss Libby’s School of Dance perform at Santa’s Village at Swan Lake recently. Tonight and Saturday night are the last nights to visit with ole Saint Nick this year at the village. Santa, below, greets Abram Edwards, 15 months old, as his father, Aaron, holds him at Santa’s Village. At the village, visitors can write letters to Santa and get some hot chocolate and watch live performances. PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Sumter woman wins national volunteer award BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com Sarah Mier doesn’t see her volunteer work as anything special. But her “boss,” Norma Crosby, thinks differently and nominated the Sumter woman for Christopher & Banks Corp.’s Amazing Women Volunteer contest. Mier won the grand prize. “It’s such an amazing award, and there are some that do so much more than I do,” she said. “I enjoy what I do, (and) I honestly feel like it’s no big deal. Anybody can do what I do.” As the grand prize winner,
VISIT US ONLINE AT
the
.com
the mother of two will receive a: • $500 Christopher & Banks/ CJ Banks gift card; • $500 donation to an agreed upon charity; • Trip to the Christopher & Banks headquarters in Minnesota; • Personalized shopping experience at the MIER Christopher & Banks/CJ Banks flagship store; • Spa experience; • Professional video and photo shoot; and • Invitation to serve as a Christopher & Banks/CJ
Banks Amazing Women Brand Ambassador. “The support that Sarah Mier gives to her community is an effort that cannot be matched,” Crosby said. “She truly embraces the heart and soul of what it means to be a volunteer and always has a warm smile on her face while serving others.” Mier has volunteered more than 1,500 hours this year. Most of her efforts are centered on Shaw Air Force Base. She joined the military at 18, and after three years, she met her husband, Andrew Mier. He’s now a master sergeant with the Air Force. While the couple was sta-
DEATHS, B4 and B5 Lorraine E. DeMunn Willie J. Toney Jr. Percy Buie Jr. Geneva Wheeler Bettye Jane Cook Mary Louise Goodman John M. Olden
OUR TRADITION
Gregory Benn Charles T. Geddings Sr. Shirley M. Moore Sabrina McDonald Isabell P. Lesaine Otis Smith
tioned in Guam, Sarah Mier had a medical condition that caused her to be in the hospital for four months. Other military spouses were by her bedside every day. “They were painting my nails and washing my hair, the small stuff that really matters,” she said. “I learned an important lesson about military families and taking care of them quick.” The Miers now have two sons, Ethan, 14, and Ryan, 11. The whole family often volunteers together. About 40 hours a week, she volunteers in the Housing Office on base. She helps individuals and families find plac-
es to stay either on or off base as well as transition smoothly to housing in other countries when they deploy or change bases. Her work with Key Spouse Group, whose goal is to support military spouses, led Mier to develop a few other programs: • Welcome Lil Defender, which provides a bundle of goodies to new mothers; • Welcome to Your New Home,which is a welcome letter as well as a key chain with a name and number of a Key Spouse Group member, is given to military personnel
SEE MIER, PAGE A7
WEATHER, A12
INSIDE
CLOUDS ROLL IN
2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 23
More clouds than sun today; expect a few showers later tonight HIGH 59, LOW 39
Jewelry Wholesale 41 E. Wesmark Blvd. • Sumter, SC 778-1031 Open this Sunday 1pm - 6pm
Classifieds B6 Comics A10 Lotteries A12
Opinion A11 Television A9