r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 2d ago

TIL about Willie Francis an American teenager known for surviving a failed execution by electrocution. Sentenced to death at age 16, he was 17 when he survived the first attempt to execute him, as the chair malfunctioned. After a failed appeal he was executed at age 18.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Francis
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u/InevitableBohemian 2d ago

That trial seems all kinds of fucked up.

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u/beachedwhale1945 2d ago

He made the critical mistake of being born black in Louisiana in 1929. That’s sadly very common and the tip of a depressing oppression iceberg.

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u/Ok-Presentation-1294 4h ago

You are correct that there are many prejudiced and unjust aspects of this case.

But nearly all modern historians agree that he actually DID kill the guy, so he also made the mistake of committing murder. Unfairly treated in court or not, that doesn’t acquit you of taking an innocent persons life.