Are children capable of murder?

We, as humans, love to believe that the world is a perfect place. Well, maybe not perfect but we do like to believe that not everything that we hear is true. Especially when we tune into the news. How can teenagers kill other teenagers? How can teenager kill younger kids? How can adults kill kids? How can anyone take anyone's life, for that matter? Sometimes, crimes blow our minds. Let's take a look at young George Junis Stinney, his tragic fate, and the fate he chose for two others.

Being only 14 years old, George Junnis Stinney was the youngest person executed in the US in the 2oth century. In 1944, race was still an immense social barrier. Stinney was black and was accused of killing two white girls - Mary Emma Thames, age 8, and Betty June Binnicker, age 11. Search parties were organized and hundreds of people volunteered to join in the search when the two girls never returned home after riding their bikes searching for flowers. It is documented that the girls rode past the Stinney property and asked George and his sister, Katherine, where they could find a certain type of flower. When the girls were finally found, it was the next morning, they'd both suffered multiple head wounds, and they were lying in a ditch caked full of mud. Stinney was arrested, and after a long interrogation, he confessed. As the confession goes, George Junnis Stinney wanted to "have sex with" Betty but realized he could not do so until Mary Emma was out of the picture; therefore, he decided to kill her. When he attempted to complete the murder both girls "fought back" causing him to revert to killing them both. He hit them repeatedly with a 15 inch railroad spike that was found in the ditch alongside the girls. Stinney was charged with first-degree murder. His defense argued that he was simply too young to be held responsible for the crimes. The jury quickly returned a guilty verdict, and Stinney was sentenced to death by the electric chair. George Junnis Stinney walked to the the execution room with a Bible under his arm. 



 
This is one of many true crime stories that proves people are capable of anything. Even if you don't believe it, you are capable of murder. It all comes down to the Lucifer Effect. The choice of crossing the line that divides good and evil is constantly being challenged. What would it take for you to snap?


case info couresty of newsone.com; video courtesy of youtube