Willie McGee (convict)
Encyclopedia
Willie McGee was an African American
from Laurel, Mississippi
, who was sentenced to death
in 1945 for the rape of Willette Hawkins, a white
housewife.
McGee's legal case became a cause célèbre
. William Faulkner
wrote a letter insisting the case against McGee was unproven. Bella Abzug
brought his appeals in Mississippi
and the Supreme Court
in one of the first civil rights
cases of her legal career. Other notable people spoke out: Jessica Mitford
, Paul Robeson
, Albert Einstein
, and Josephine Baker
. U.S. President
Harry S. Truman
came under international pressure to grant McGee a pardon
.
McGee spent eight years in Mississippi
jails prior to his execution, during which time the Communist Party Civil Rights Council gained him two new trials and several stays of execution
. Supreme Court Justice Harold Burton
ordered a stay in July 1950; however the full Supreme Court
refused to hear McGee's final appeal.
The night before he was electrocuted
by the state of Mississippi, he wrote a farewell letter to his wife, Rosalie:
In an NPR
documentary in 2010 it was reported that the son of McGee's original prosecutor had claimed that his father and Willie McGee shared a bottle of whiskey the night before his execution. During that conversation McGee had supposedly admitted he had had sexual intercourse with the housewife but suggested that she had wanted it as much as him. The report noted allegations that McGee and his alleged victim were lovers and that she cried rape when she feared the affair would be exposed. McGee did not use this defense in court, but his supporters claim it would only have harmed his position, because of the inflammatory effect it could have had on the all-white jury.
Author Alex Heard
, through Harper Publishing, released his book The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South in May 2010.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
from Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, who was sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in 1945 for the rape of Willette Hawkins, a white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
housewife.
McGee's legal case became a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
. William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
wrote a letter insisting the case against McGee was unproven. Bella Abzug
Bella Abzug
Bella Savitsky Abzug was an American lawyer, Congresswoman, social activist and a leader of the Women's Movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus...
brought his appeals in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in one of the first civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
cases of her legal career. Other notable people spoke out: Jessica Mitford
Jessica Mitford
Jessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford was an English author, journalist and political campaigner, who was one of the Mitford sisters...
, Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, and Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
. U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
came under international pressure to grant McGee a pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
.
McGee spent eight years in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
jails prior to his execution, during which time the Communist Party Civil Rights Council gained him two new trials and several stays of execution
Stay of execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not necessarily mean the death penalty; it refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed....
. Supreme Court Justice Harold Burton
Harold Hitz Burton
Harold Hitz Burton was an American politician and lawyer.He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was known as a dispassionate jurist who prized equal justice under the law.-Biography:He...
ordered a stay in July 1950; however the full Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
refused to hear McGee's final appeal.
The night before he was electrocuted
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
by the state of Mississippi, he wrote a farewell letter to his wife, Rosalie:
In an NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
documentary in 2010 it was reported that the son of McGee's original prosecutor had claimed that his father and Willie McGee shared a bottle of whiskey the night before his execution. During that conversation McGee had supposedly admitted he had had sexual intercourse with the housewife but suggested that she had wanted it as much as him. The report noted allegations that McGee and his alleged victim were lovers and that she cried rape when she feared the affair would be exposed. McGee did not use this defense in court, but his supporters claim it would only have harmed his position, because of the inflammatory effect it could have had on the all-white jury.
Author Alex Heard
Alexander S. Heard
Alexander S. Heard is editorial director of Outside magazine and the author of Apocalypse Pretty Soon, a book about millennial subcultures in the United States. His book, "The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South", about the 1951 execution of Willie McGee...
, through Harper Publishing, released his book The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South in May 2010.
External links
- NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, My Grandfather's Execution