Black Female Georgian Executed In 1945 For Killing A White Man In Self Defense Honored Today

Lena Baker was pardoned long after her death

The Movie: Lena Baker
The Dedication Ceremony 

Back during the time where a "Black man had no rights that a White man need respect" the trial of Lena Baker.  The "All White Jury" in the state of Georgia saw a White man dead and a Black woman who killed him.   This was all they needed to know about her guilt.

Regardless of the law regarding the use of force for self defense the "enforced rights" of the White man was seen as supreme.




AJC Article

The only woman ever to die in Georgia's electric chair is receiving a headstone at a dedication ceremony, more than 65 years after she was executed.

The Lena Baker dedication on Wednesday at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Cuthbert will feature lawmakers and gospel singers.

Baker, a black maid, was convicted in a one-day trial for killing a white man in 1944 and executed a year later.

She received a pardon in 2005 after her family pointed out she likely killed the man because he was holding her against her will.

Her grand-nephew Roosevelt Curry said Baker was "somewhere around God's throne and can look down and smile" after the pardon.

The dedication comes amid renewed attention about Baker's plight. A DVD of the film "The Lena Baker Story" was also released this month.