The Failed Electrocution Of Willie Francis
Wikimedia CommonsWillie Francis is widely remembered as the “teenager who was executed twice.”
Human beings have pondered our mortality since the dawn of time. Accepting our own death remains a harsh reality that all of us will someday have to face. But in the 1940s, a Black teenager named Willie Francis was forced to confront that certainty twice — thanks to a botched execution.
Francis had been sent to the electric chair after he was accused of killing a white pharmacist in St. Martinsville, Louisiana, in 1944. Though the murder initially had no suspects, St. Martinsville’s sheriff E. L. Resweber called upon the Chief of Police in nearby Port Arthur, Texas, to arrest “any man.”
While Francis, a resident of St. Martinsville, was visiting his sister in Port Arthur, he was arrested on suspicion of an unrelated crime. But when police failed to tie him to that crime, they began questioning him about the killing of the pharmacist. Cops soon claimed that Francis had the pharmacist’s wallet in his possession — and that he voluntarily admitted to the murder.
Bettmann/Getty ImagesWillie Francis reading in his cell.
Despite the officers’ claims, the confession was suspect, as many of the words appeared to have been dictated by a policeman. In addition, Francis had no counsel present at the time the confession was obtained. And three weeks later, he pleaded not guilty before a white jury. His lawyers failed to cross-examine witnesses despite the evidence being dubious at best.
Still, in an atmosphere of racism and police corruption in the Jim Crow South, Francis was soon found guilty and sent to the electric chair in 1946. But as he prepared to die, the device malfunctioned — and Francis survived. It was soon found that a drunken guard had improperly prepped the chair before the execution, and Francis was soon sent back to his cell.
The shocking story was plastered all over the news, as the state of Louisiana debated on how to proceed with the boy they had planned to kill. Meanwhile, many citizens believed that Francis’ survival in the electric chair was an act of God — and a sign that he didn’t deserve to die.
But despite counting several new supporters and his case going all the way to the Supreme Court, Francis was condemned again just a year later. And this time around, his execution was tragically successful.
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