The story
From Alcolu, South Carolina U.S- which was a working area, mill town where whites and blacks were separated by a railroad track. Along with 11 year old Betty June Binnicker, the two girls disappeared riding their bicycles and looking for flowers. As they passed Stinney property, they asked George Stinney and his younger sister Katherine where they could find maypops ( a type of flower). When the two girls didn't return search parties were organized with hundreds of volunteers. The bodies were found the next day in a ditch filled with muddy water. Both were killed by severe head wounds. 14 year old George Stinney Jr was claimed guilty for the girl's murder and was executed in the electric chair.
Memory wall
4 tributes have been left in memory of Mary Emma Thames.
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Rest in peace, sweet angel. Even if you lived through the horrid experience, you would have known George Stinney was innocent.
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A candle was lit in memory.
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A candle was lit in memory.
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Hope the two of you found many of those flowers with George in Heaven
Keep exploring
See more memorials on the tributes index, or browse cemeteries and burial plots on the interactive map.