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The Execution of Lena Baker

By TChris, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 07:25:27 AM EST
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by TChris

Death penalty supporters who confidently proclaim that the truely innocent are never executed should consider the case of Lena Baker. Here's what John Cole Vodicka, director of Georgia's Prison & Jail Project, says about the circumstances of her 1945 execution.

"This black woman was wrongfully prosecuted and executed because she was defending herself against a white man who repeatedly sexually abused her," Cole Vodicka said. "Lena Baker was tried without proper legal representation."

Vodicka said Baker killed a white man in March 1945, who tried to rape her. He said Baker final words were, “I did it in self-defense, or I would have killed myself..." Baker was convicted by an all white male jury in a one-day trial.

Lena Baker is the only woman to die in Georgia's electric chair. She was honored at a memorial on Saturday.

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    The Execution of Lena Baker | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 08:09:18 AM EST
    This is a terrible story but how is it relevant to today?

    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (#2)
    by wishful on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 08:18:15 AM EST
    LCA, are you a truly innocent heart asking a question because you really want to understand something that you haven't yet come to terms with, or is your question loaded?

    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 08:36:09 AM EST
    No, it's not a loaded question. It just seems that many of the circumstances this woman faced (all white male jury, more prevalent racism of the time, black woman killing a white man) are not as applicable/condemming today. Maybe I'm ignorant but I would hope she would at least have a much better chance at justice if the crime was committed today.

    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 08:44:01 AM EST
    It is inspiring to see a website scrutinize it's own profession so aggressively. This to me is much more effective in regulating ethics within a profession. I've always felt that there needs to be more aggressive oversight of professional ethics within a given profession. The alternative is to have outside regulation and oversight, which invariably leads to wrongful accusations and heavyhanded reactive politics that only degrades the quality of the profession.

    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (#5)
    by wishful on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 09:10:33 AM EST
    LCA, I agree that we always need hope. Without that, all is lost. I fear that the situation has not improved to the extent that our justice system can be trusted to mete out justice. Maybe we do the best we can, but I personally don't believe we are setting the bar reasonably high. My particular interest is sentencing issues, but I am just an interested citizen, not in any way involved professionally. My reading suggests that we are far from the system that we would want. Put yourself in the place of a mistakenly accused poor person, not sympathetic by way of being in the majority or correct religious faith or family and friends, etc. Your chances for a just outcome are negatively impacted by a quest for the something besides the truth. We need to strive mightily for true justice, because diminishing one of us diminishes all of us.

    Re: The Execution of Lena Baker (none / 0) (