‘To give him a voice:’ Electric chair on display honors SC boy executed 77 years ago

By Alexx Altman-Devilbiss

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) — Internationally known artist J. Renee has designed her version of an electric chair that was used for the execution of 14-year-old George Stinney, Jr. back in 1944 in Clarendon County.

The chair is on display at the University Place Gallery in downtown Florence as part of the Jamestown Foundation’s ‘No Place Like Home’ exhibit.

The Jamestown Foundation was created to “honor the history of the former slaves of the Pee Dee Region and their descendants. It recognizes the family land and legacy of Ervin James, the first freed African American slave to own property in Florence, SC. This exhibit includes the artwork of master artists and craftspeople who are currently living and working in the southeast, many of whom continue to use traditional and historic art making processes.”

Stinney was convicted and put to death by the electric chair on June 16, 1944, for the murders of two girls ages 7 and 11 in the Alcolu community of Clarendon County.

Their bodies were found on March 24, 1944. Stinney was arrested the same day.

Officials said Stinney confessed, but that he was coerced. The trial lasted 2 and a half hours without testimony from Stinney.

In 2014, a circuit court judge heard arguments on whether a new trial should be granted and overturned his conviction saying the state did a great injustice when it put Stinney in the electric chair less than two months after he was convicted and just 12 weeks after he was arrested.

J. Renee said she recently learned of Stinney’s story and wanted to do something in his honor.

“It just touched me and people need to know the story. Not just here in South Carolina. But also nationally. It should be one of our history pieces. You know, this piece should teach us something moving forward. I wanted people to know his story. Because I was devastated that he was 14 years old. And he didn’t have a voice. So, I wanted this piece to basically give him a voice,” said J. Renee.

Her chair has ropes, blue bottles, traps, lights, angles and so much more.

J. Renee said each piece on her chair makes a statement, including a glass plate with a faint image of Stinney’s face.

“You see a face which is used a portrait of him. But, I didn’t want you to see really his face. Because they hid his face. And not only that. You see his eye looking. And this is reverse glass. That’s my specialty. A reverse glass piece and it literally cracked when I was working on it. And I decided to fix it and keep it like that. Because he was broken.”

The Bible on the chair also has a significant meaning.

“They say their last rights of passage basically. When they are getting ready to be executed. But, more importantly, that he had to sit on a Bible because he was so small. And so, I want people to see that and feel something.”

Terry James with the Jamestown Foundation said there are wonderful pieces of art at the exhibit, but the chair really sends a message.

“It really helps us to tell the story of African-Americans who lived in the south. Who lived in the United States. And what this piece really does, it speaks to people. Because you think about you were at 14 years old. You are playing. You are innocent. And all of a sudden you’re cast into the limelight of doing something tragic that you really didn’t do. And so it really helps the Jamestown to tell the story of African Americans who lived in the Pee Dee and surrounding areas,” said James.

University Place Gallery coordinator Colleen Critcher said the chair is quite a talking piece and gets a lot of attention.

“It stops people in their tracks. And there are a lot of questions. Just because visually, it’s very interesting. And you can tell immediately that there’s a story,” said Critcher.

J. Renee is “internationally known for her reverse glass paintings or Eglomise, depicting the life and times in New Orleans, pre and post-Katrina. She enjoys painting images and/or scenes depicting images that promote thought on issues of social justice, history, and folklore.

Her glass paintings include tropical Gauguin-inspired figures, surrounded by poignant scenes from the city she loves and pines for — cemeteries, second lines, iron work, flood wreckage and rescue helicopters. She graduated from Xavier University in 1989 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Her teacher and mentor was renowned artist and MacArthur Foundation recipient, John Scott.

Renee often includes photo clippings to lend unexpectedly realistic touches to her mixed media works. Like many, Renee was a Katrina evacuee who was forced to move around the country before settling in Columbia, SC.

The chair will be on display at the gallery until Aug. 13.