Virginia Christian
Last female juvenile offender to be executed in the United States
Virginia Christian
Virginia Christian (August 15, 1895 – August 16, 1912) was an African American teenager executed by the state of Virginia. Convicted of first degree murder for killing her white employer Ida Belote, Christian became the last female juvenile offender to be executed in the United States and was the only such execution in the 20th century. Virginia Christian left school at age 13 to work for Ida Belote. On March 18, 1912, when Christian was 16, Belote accused Christian of theft and attacked her. In response, Christian struck her with a broom handle and forced a towel down her throat, killing her. Christian was arrested and tried before an entirely white and male jury. Her lawyers, Joseph Thomas Newsome and George Washington Fields, argued that the killing was not premeditated, but the jury found her guilty of first degree murder after only 23 minutes of deliberation. Despite a Virginia law aimed at placing minors in reformatories for first-time offenses, Christian was sentenced to death. Christian...
Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
Open boosters, collect cards and trade them. Free to play.
Play for free