Лена бэйкер ошибочно осужденные

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lena Baker
Lena Baker’s February 23, 1945 mugshot
Born	June 8, 1900 Cuthbert, Georgia, US
Died	March 5, 1945 (aged 44) Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Occupation	Maid
Criminal status	Executed (March 5, 1945; 77 years ago) Pardoned (August 16, 2005)
Children	3
Conviction(s)	Capital murder (posthumously pardoned)
Criminal penalty	Death

Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945)^[1] was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945.^[2] Baker was the only woman in Georgia to be executed by electrocution.^[3][2]

The slaying and execution came during a decades-long period of state suppression of civil rights of black citizens in white-dominated Georgia. The state had disenfranchised black people since the turn of the century, and imposed legal racial segregation and second-class status on them. At the time of the trial, a local newspaper reported that Baker was held as a «slave woman» by Knight, and that she shot him in self-defense during a struggle.^[4]

In 2005, sixty years after her execution, the state of Georgia granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon. A biography was published about Baker in 2001, and it was adapted for the feature film The Lena Baker Story (2008), chronicling the events of her life, trial, and execution.

Early life[edit]

Lena Baker was born June 8, 1900, to a family of sharecroppers and raised near Cuthbert, Georgia. Her family, which included three siblings, moved to the county seat when she was a child. As a youth, she and her siblings all worked as farm laborers; she chopped cotton for a farmer named J.A. Cox.^[5]

By the 1940s, Baker was the mother of three children and worked as a maid to support her family.

Killing[edit]

In 1944, Baker started working for Ernest Knight, an older white man who had broken his leg. He owned a gristmill and, upon sexually assaulting Lena multiple times, he would keep her there imprisoned for days at a time in «near slavery.»^[4] Knight’s son and townspeople disliked their «relationship», and tried to end it through threatening Baker.^[2] One night an argument between the two ensued, during which Knight threatened Baker with an iron bar. As she tried to escape, they struggled over his pistol and she shot and killed him. She immediately reported the incident and said she had acted in self-defense.

Trial and execution[edit]

Lena Baker was charged with capital murder and stood trial on August 14, 1944. The trial was presided over by Judge William «Two Gun» Worrill, who kept a pair of pistols in view on his judicial bench.^[5]
At her trial, Baker testified that Knight forced her to go with him on that Saturday evening of April 29. The town disliked their sexual relationship and the county sheriff had warned her to stay away from Knight, or risk being sent to jail. But she was afraid of Knight’s physical abuse; he had forced relations on her. His son had also beat her on another occasion, warning her to stay away from his father.^[4] Baker said she got away from Knight that night and slept in the woods. As she returned to Cuthbert the next morning, Knight cornered her, taking her to the gristmill and locking her in. When Knight returned, Baker told him she was leaving. According to Baker, they «tussled over the pistol», after he threatened her with an iron bar.^[3] She immediately reported it to J.A. Cox, the county coroner who had previously employed her.

The all-white, all-male jury rejected Baker’s plea of self-defense and convicted her of capital murder by the end of the first day of the trial.^[5] This charge carried an automatic death sentence. In addition to the legal racial segregation imposed by the white-dominated Georgia legislature, it had disenfranchised most black people since the turn of the century, which disqualified them from jury service. After Baker’s court-appointed counsel, W.L. Ferguson, filed an appeal, he dropped Baker as a client.^[5]

Governor Ellis Arnall granted Baker a 60-day reprieve so that the Board of Pardons and Parole could review the case, but in January 1945 it denied Baker clemency.^[6] She was transferred to Georgia State Prison at Reidsville on February 23, 1945.^[6]

What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has forgiven me. I have nothing against anyone. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good to me. I am ready to go. I am one in the number. I am ready to meet my God. I have a very strong conscience.

— Baker’s last words^[5]

Baker was executed on March 5, 1945.^[2] She was buried in an unmarked grave behind Mount Vernon Baptist Church, where she had sung in the choir.

Posthumous pardon[edit]

In 1998, members of the congregation arranged for a simple headstone for her grave.^[6] That year two articles were published about her case.^[7]

In 2003, descendants of Baker’s family began to mark the anniversary of her death and Mother’s Day at her graveside. That year Baker’s grandnephew, Roosevelt Curry, requested an official pardon from the state, aided by the Georgia-based prison advocacy group, Prison and Jail Project.

In 2005, the Parole Board granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon.^[2][6][5] Commentators have suggested that in 1945, the Board of Pardons and Parole could have lowered her charge to voluntary manslaughter, which would have carried an average 15-year sentence and saved her life.^[2][8]

Representation in other media[edit]

In 2001, Lela Bond Phillips, a professor at Andrew College, published a biography titled The Lena Baker Story, which was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2008. Tichina Arnold played the role of Lena Baker.

See also[edit]

• List of wrongful convictions in the United States

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Phillips, Lela Bond (2001). The Lena Baker Story. Atlanta: Wings Publishers. ISBN 9781930897076. OCLC 48190560.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lena Baker
Lena Baker’s February 23, 1945 mugshot
Born	June 8, 1900 Cuthbert, Georgia, US
Died	March 5, 1945 (aged 44) Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Occupation	Maid
Criminal status	Executed (March 5, 1945; 77 years ago) Pardoned (August 16, 2005)
Children	3
Conviction(s)	Capital murder (posthumously pardoned)
Criminal penalty	Death

Lena Baker (June 8, 1900 – March 5, 1945)^[1] was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was wrongfully convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945.^[2] Baker was the only woman in Georgia to be executed by electrocution.^[3][2]

The slaying and execution came during a decades-long period of state suppression of civil rights of black citizens in white-dominated Georgia. The state had disenfranchised black people since the turn of the century, and imposed legal racial segregation and second-class status on them. At the time of the trial, a local newspaper reported that Baker was held as a «slave woman» by Knight, and that she shot him in self-defense during a struggle.^[4]

In 2005, sixty years after her execution, the state of Georgia granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon. A biography was published about Baker in 2001, and it was adapted for the feature film The Lena Baker Story (2008), chronicling the events of her life, trial, and execution.

Early life[edit]

Lena Baker was born June 8, 1900, to a family of sharecroppers and raised near Cuthbert, Georgia. Her family, which included three siblings, moved to the county seat when she was a child. As a youth, she and her siblings all worked as farm laborers; she chopped cotton for a farmer named J.A. Cox.^[5]

By the 1940s, Baker was the mother of three children and worked as a maid to support her family.

Killing[edit]

In 1944, Baker started working for Ernest Knight, an older white man who had broken his leg. He owned a gristmill and, upon sexually assaulting Lena multiple times, he would keep her there imprisoned for days at a time in «near slavery.»^[4] Knight’s son and townspeople disliked their «relationship», and tried to end it through threatening Baker.^[2] One night an argument between the two ensued, during which Knight threatened Baker with an iron bar. As she tried to escape, they struggled over his pistol and she shot and killed him. She immediately reported the incident and said she had acted in self-defense.

Trial and execution[edit]

Lena Baker was charged with capital murder and stood trial on August 14, 1944. The trial was presided over by Judge William «Two Gun» Worrill, who kept a pair of pistols in view on his judicial bench.^[5]
At her trial, Baker testified that Knight forced her to go with him on that Saturday evening of April 29. The town disliked their sexual relationship and the county sheriff had warned her to stay away from Knight, or risk being sent to jail. But she was afraid of Knight’s physical abuse; he had forced relations on her. His son had also beat her on another occasion, warning her to stay away from his father.^[4] Baker said she got away from Knight that night and slept in the woods. As she returned to Cuthbert the next morning, Knight cornered her, taking her to the gristmill and locking her in. When Knight returned, Baker told him she was leaving. According to Baker, they «tussled over the pistol», after he threatened her with an iron bar.^[3] She immediately reported it to J.A. Cox, the county coroner who had previously employed her.

The all-white, all-male jury rejected Baker’s plea of self-defense and convicted her of capital murder by the end of the first day of the trial.^[5] This charge carried an automatic death sentence. In addition to the legal racial segregation imposed by the white-dominated Georgia legislature, it had disenfranchised most black people since the turn of the century, which disqualified them from jury service. After Baker’s court-appointed counsel, W.L. Ferguson, filed an appeal, he dropped Baker as a client.^[5]

Governor Ellis Arnall granted Baker a 60-day reprieve so that the Board of Pardons and Parole could review the case, but in January 1945 it denied Baker clemency.^[6] She was transferred to Georgia State Prison at Reidsville on February 23, 1945.^[6]

What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has forgiven me. I have nothing against anyone. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good to me. I am ready to go. I am one in the number. I am ready to meet my God. I have a very strong conscience.

— Baker’s last words^[5]

Baker was executed on March 5, 1945.^[2] She was buried in an unmarked grave behind Mount Vernon Baptist Church, where she had sung in the choir.

Posthumous pardon[edit]

In 1998, members of the congregation arranged for a simple headstone for her grave.^[6] That year two articles were published about her case.^[7]

In 2003, descendants of Baker’s family began to mark the anniversary of her death and Mother’s Day at her graveside. That year Baker’s grandnephew, Roosevelt Curry, requested an official pardon from the state, aided by the Georgia-based prison advocacy group, Prison and Jail Project.

In 2005, the Parole Board granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon.^[2][6][5] Commentators have suggested that in 1945, the Board of Pardons and Parole could have lowered her charge to voluntary manslaughter, which would have carried an average 15-year sentence and saved her life.^[2][8]

Representation in other media[edit]

In 2001, Lela Bond Phillips, a professor at Andrew College, published a biography titled The Lena Baker Story, which was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2008. Tichina Arnold played the role of Lena Baker.

See also[edit]

• List of wrongful convictions in the United States

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Phillips, Lela Bond (2001). The Lena Baker Story. Atlanta: Wings Publishers. ISBN 9781930897076. OCLC 48190560.

Лена Бейкер
Фотография Лены Бейкер от 23 февраля 1945 года
Родилась	(1900-06-08) 8 июня 1900 года. Катберт, Джорджия
Умер	5 марта 1945 (1945-03-05) (44 года). Ридсвилл, Джорджия
Род занятий	Горничная
Уголовное положение	Казнены
Дети	3
Осуждение (и)	Смертное убийство
Уголовное наказание	Смерть от электрического тока

Надгробие Лены Бейкер на горе. Кладбище вернонской баптистской церкви в Катберте, Джорджия

Лена Бейкер (8 июня 1900 — 5 марта 1945) была афроамериканкой горничной в Катберте, Джорджия, Соединенные Штаты, которая была признана виновной в убийстве ее белого работодателя Эрнеста Найта. Она была казнена в штате Джорджия в 1945 году. Бейкер была единственной женщиной в Джорджии, казненной электрическим током.

Убийство и казнь произошли в течение десятилетий государственного подавления гражданских прав чернокожих граждан в Грузии, где доминируют белые. Государство лишило гражданских прав чернокожих с начала века и ввело им законную расовую сегрегацию и статус второго сорта. Во время суда местная газета сообщила, что Найт удерживал Бейкера как «рабыню» и что она застрелила его в целях самообороны во время борьбы.

В 2005 году, через шестьдесят лет после нее. казни, штат Джорджия предоставил Бейкеру полное и безоговорочное помилование . В 2001 году была опубликована биография Бейкера, адаптированная для художественного фильма История Лены Бейкер (2008), в котором рассказывается о событиях ее жизни, суде и казни.

Содержание

• 1 Ранняя жизнь
• 2 Убийство
• 3 Суд и казнь
• 4 Посмертное помилование
• 5 Представление в других СМИ
• 6 См. Также
• 7 Ссылки
• 8 Дополнительная литература
• 9 Внешние ссылки

Ранние годы

Лена Бейкер родилась 8 июня 1900 года в семье издольщиков и выросла недалеко от Катберта, Джорджия. Ее семья, в которую входили трое братьев и сестер, переехала в округ, когда она была ребенком. В юности она и ее братья и сестры работали на ферме; она рубила хлопок для фермера по имени Дж. Кокс.

К 1940-м годам Бейкер была матерью троих детей и работала горничной, чтобы содержать свою семью.

Убийство

В 1944 году Бейкер начал работать на Эрнеста Найта, пожилого белого человека, сломавшего ногу. Он владел мельницей и, многократно изнасиловав Лену, держал ее там в заточении по несколько дней, «почти в рабстве». Сыну Найта и горожанам не нравились их отношения, и они пытались прекратить их, угрожая Бейкеру. Однажды ночью между ними завязался спор, во время которого Найт пригрозил Бейкеру железным прутом. Когда она пыталась сбежать, они пытались выхватить его пистолет, и она застрелила его. Она немедленно сообщила об инциденте и сказала, что действовала в порядке самообороны.

Суд и казнь

Лене Бейкер было предъявлено обвинение в убийстве, караемом смертной казнью, и она предстала перед судом 14 августа 1944 года. Судебный процесс проходил под председательством судьи Уильяма «Два пистолета» Уоррилла, который держал в поле зрения пару пистолетов на своей судейской скамье. На суде Бейкер свидетельствовал, что Найт заставил ее пойти с ним в тот субботний вечер 29 апреля. Городу не нравились их сексуальные отношения, и шериф графства предупредил ее, чтобы она держалась подальше от Найта, иначе рискнет попасть в тюрьму. Но она боялась физического насилия Найта; он навязал ей отношения. Его сын также избил ее в другом случае, предупредив, чтобы она держалась подальше от его отца. Бейкер сказал, что той ночью она сбежала от Найта и спала в лесу. Когда она вернулась в Катберт на следующее утро, Найт загнал ее в угол, отвел к мельнице и запер в ней. Когда Найт вернулся, Бейкер сказал ему, что она уходит. По словам Бейкера, они «дрались из-за пистолета» после того, как он угрожал ей железным прутом. Она немедленно сообщила об этом J.A. Кокс, коронер графства, который ранее нанял ее.

Белые присяжные, состоящие только из мужчин, отклонили просьбу Бейкер о самообороне и признали ее виновной в убийстве, караемом смертной казнью, к концу первого дня судебного разбирательства. Это обвинение автоматически приводило к смертной казни. В дополнение к законной расовой сегрегации, установленной законодательным собранием Джорджии, в котором доминируют белые, он лишил избирательных прав большинство чернокожих с начала века, что лишило их права участвовать в работе присяжных. После назначенного судом адвоката Бейкера W.L. Фергюсон подал апелляцию, он отказался от Бейкера как клиента.

Губернатор Эллис Арналл предоставил Бейкеру отсрочку на 60 дней, чтобы Совет по помилованию и условно-досрочному освобождению мог рассмотреть дело, но в В январе 1945 года Бейкер отказал в помиловании. Она была переведена в Государственную тюрьму штата Джорджия в Рейдсвилле 23 февраля 1945 года.

То, что я сделал, я сделал в порядке самообороны, иначе меня бы убили. Там, где я был, я не мог этого преодолеть. Бог простил меня. Я ничего не имею против никого. Я собирала хлопок для мистера Притчетта, и он хорошо ко мне относился. Я готов идти. Я один из них. Я готов встретить своего Бога. У меня очень сильная совесть.

— Последние слова Бейкера

Бейкер была казнена 5 марта 1945 года. Ее похоронили в безымянной могиле за баптистской церковью Маунт-Вернон, где она пела в хоре.

Посмертное помилование

В 1998 году члены общины устроили простое надгробие на ее могиле. В том же году были опубликованы две статьи о ее деле.

В 2003 году потомки семьи Бейкеров начали отмечать годовщину ее смерти и День матери на ее могиле. В том же году внучатый племянник Бейкера, Рузвельт Карри, обратился к государству с просьбой об официальном помиловании при поддержке базирующейся в Джорджии группы защиты тюрем, Prison and Jail Project.

В 2005 году Комиссия по условно-досрочному освобождению помиловала Бейкера полностью и безоговорочно. Комментаторы предположили, что в 1945 году Совет по помилованию и условно-досрочному освобождению мог снизить ее обвинение до добровольного непредумышленного убийства, что повлекло бы за собой в среднем 15-летнее заключение и спасло бы ее жизнь.

в других СМИ

В 2001 году Лела Бонд Филлипс, профессор колледжа Эндрю, опубликовала биографию под названием «История Лены Бейкер», которая была адаптирована в художественный фильм того же имя в 2008 году. Тичина Арнольд исполнила роль Лены Бейкер.

См. Также

• Список неправомерных приговоров в США.

Ссылки

Дополнительная литература

• Филлипс, Лела Бонд (2001). История Лены Бейкер. Атланта : Wings Publishers. ISBN 9781930897076. OCLC 48190560.

Внешние ссылки

• Лена Бейкер в Найди могилу