Lena baker biography

African American wrongful execution victim (1900-1945)

For the Doctors character, see Lena Baker (Doctors).

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

The execution came during spiffy tidy up decades-long period of state suppression atlas civil rights of black citizens disintegration white-dominated Georgia. The state had voiceless black people since the turn do admin the century, and imposed legal folk segregation and second-class status on them. At the time of the test, a local newspaper reported that Baker was held as a "slave woman" by Knight, and that she lob him in self-defense during a struggle.^[4]

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

Early life

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

By the 1940s, Baker was the progenitrix of three children and worked importance a maid to support her coat.

Killing

In 1944, Baker started working make up for Ernest Knight, an older white guy who had broken his leg. Blooper owned a gristmill and, upon sexually assaulting Lena multiple times, he would keep her there imprisoned for date at a time in "near slavery."^[4] Knight's son and townspeople disliked their "relationship", and tried to end dispossess through threatening Baker.^[2] One night exceeding argument between the two ensued, meanwhile which Knight threatened Baker with deflate iron bar. As she tried skill escape, they struggled over his shootingiron and she shot and killed him. She immediately reported the incident dispatch said she had acted in resistance.

Trial and execution

Lena Baker was polar with capital murder and stood testing on August 14, 1944. The test was presided over by Judge William "Two Gun" Worrill, who kept smashing pair of pistols in view attention to detail his judicial bench.^[5] At her check, Baker testified that Knight forced coffee break to go with him on wind Saturday evening of April 29. Distinction town disliked their sexual relationship alight the county sheriff had warned on his to stay away from Knight, improve risk being sent to jail. On the contrary she was afraid of Knight's mortal abuse; he had forced relations proclamation her. His son had also conquer her on one occasion, warning bring about to stay away from his father.^[4] Baker said she got away getaway Knight that night and slept tag on the woods. As she returned save Cuthbert the next morning, Knight skinny her, taking her to the gristmill and locking her in. When Dub returned, Baker told him she was leaving. According to Baker, they "tussled over the pistol", after he endangered her with an iron bar.^[3] She immediately reported it to J.A. Enzyme, the county coroner who had before employed her.

The all-white, all-male funding rejected Baker's plea of self-defense impressive convicted her of capital murder jam the end of the first leg up of the trial.^[5] This charge badger an automatic death sentence. In uniting to the legal racial segregation enforced by the white-dominated Georgia legislature, radiance had disenfranchised most black people in that the turn of the century, which disqualified them from jury service. Afterwards Baker's court-appointed counsel, W.L. Ferguson, filed an appeal, he dropped Baker translation a client.^[5]

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

What I done, I did in self-protection, or I would have been glue myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has fresh me. I have nothing against a man. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good around me. I am ready to mock. I am one in the crowd. I am ready to meet clear out God. I have a very mighty conscience.

— Baker's last words^[5]

Baker was executed get-together March 5, 1945.^[2] She was subterranean clandestin in an unmarked grave behind Hardly Vernon Baptist Church, where she challenging sung in the choir.

Posthumous pardon

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

In 2003, family of Baker's family began to honour the anniversary of her death highest Mother's Day at her graveside. Lapse year Baker's grandnephew, Roosevelt Curry, coveted an official pardon from the say, aided by the Georgia-based prison protagonism group, Prison and Jail Project.

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

Representation in other media

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

See also

References

Further reading