Willie Francis was an African American teenager sentenced to death in 1945 after a flawed murder trial. At 17, he survived a botched execution, becoming the first known person to survive the electric chair. However, his appeals failed, and he was executed a year later at age 18.
Born on January 12, 1929, Willie Francis grew up in a large, close-knit family in St. Martinville, Louisiana. The youngest of 13 children, he was described as a lighthearted prankster who enjoyed making people laugh. His stutter and the way he carried himself led some in town to believe he wasn’t very bright. One resident recalled that he “walked kind of funny and didn’t seem very bright by the way he talked.” Others noted that he acted younger than his age, sometimes seeming unaware of the seriousness of situations.
Though he attended school, work was a constant part of his life. He took on small jobs around town, including occasional tasks for Andrew Thomas, a white pharmacist in St. Martinville. Willie never had steady employment with Thomas but would sometimes sweep the drugstore or clean the yard. Another store employee later described Willie as a “nice boy” with no history of violence. Years later, Willie would be accused of Thomas’s murder, a crime that would forever alter his life.
In 1944, Andrew Thomas was shot and killed. The case remained unsolved for nine months until Willie, then 16, was detained in Texas on suspicion of drug trafficking. Police claimed he was carrying Thomas’s wallet, though no evidence of this was presented at trial.
Willie was taken back to Louisiana, where he was interrogated without legal counsel. Initially, he named multiple people as being involved in Thomas’ murder, but the police dismissed his claims. Under pressure, the 16-year-old wrote a confession, part of which read, “It was a secret about me and him.” The meaning of this statement remains unclear.
Years later, historian Gilbert King, in his book The Execution of Willie Francis (2008), suggested that Willie may have been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Thomas. A former employee of Thomas’ drugstore, Stella Vincent, had abruptly quit her job and moved out of state shortly before the murder. Thirty years later, on her deathbed, she revealed to her sister that she had witnessed something disturbing in the store involving Thomas and Willie. The details of what she saw were never made public, but it was enough to make her leave town permanently.
Another troubling aspect of the case was the disappearance of key evidence. Willie’s confession stated that he had stolen the murder weapon from Deputy Sheriff August Fuselier, who had allegedly threatened to kill Thomas in the past. However, the gun and the bullets recovered from Thomas’ body vanished from police evidence just before trial.
The legal proceedings that followed were anything but just. Francis, a poor African-American teenager, faced trial in the deeply segregated South before an all-white jury. His court-appointed defense attorneys mounted no meaningful defense—they called no witnesses, raised no objections, and failed to challenge the confession, even though it had been obtained without counsel present.
In just two days, the jury found Francis guilty of murder, and the judge sentenced him to death. Notably, Francis was only 16 years old at the time of the crime, making his death sentence questionable even under Louisiana law. Yet, his legal team did not challenge this aspect of the case either.
During his trial, observers noted that Willie appeared cocky, as if he were playing a game, rather than realizing he was fighting for his life. This could have been a defense mechanism, or it may have been a reflection of his actual understanding of what was happening.
Despite his conviction, many in St. Martinville believed Francis had been framed. Residents doubted that the small, non-violent teenager could have engaged in the kind of struggle that led to Thomas’ violent death. Nonetheless, the legal system moved swiftly, and Francis was scheduled for execution.
The Botched Execution
On May 3, 1946, Willie Francis was led to the electric chair, a portable device known as “Gruesome Gertie.” As the switch was thrown, Francis let out a chilling scream from beneath the hood: “Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!” The sound of the faulty chair was described as “deafening,” audible for blocks.
Rather than killing him instantly, the chair subjected Francis to excruciating pain. He later described the experience:
“It felt like a hundred and a thousand needles and pins were pricking me all over, and my left leg felt like somebody was cutting it with a razor blade.”
The execution had failed. It was later discovered that the chair had been improperly set up by a drunk prison guard and an inmate from Louisiana State Penitentiary.
The botched execution sparked national outrage and debate. Many saw it as a miracle, while others viewed it as a cruel and unusual punishment. Willie received letters from across the country, some expressing sympathy, others offering religious solace. One unusual letter came from a woman in Dallas, Texas, asking Francis to donate his eyes to her blind brother if he were executed. Initially, Francis agreed, always eager to please. His mother, however, intervened and forced him to retract his promise.
After the failed execution, attorney Bertrand DeBlanc took up Willie’s case, arguing that a second attempt would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. DeBlanc, a former friend of the late Andrew Thomas, faced backlash from the community but remained committed to justice. He brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in Francis v. Resweber (1947), citing violations of Willie’s Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Court, however, ruled against Willie, stating that the failed execution did not constitute double jeopardy or cruel and unusual punishment.
The lawyer continued fighting to save Francis’ life, even up until the day of the second execution. However, by that time, Francis had accepted his fate. With his mother in poor health, he did not want her to endure further stress from the legal battles. He ultimately asked his lawyer to stop trying to save him.
The Final Execution
On May 9, 1947, Willie Francis was led to the electric chair once more. This time, the electric chair worked as intended.
Unlike the first attempt, Willie was allowed to wear his Sunday best rather than a prison uniform. In the days leading up to his execution, he told a reporter that he wanted to meet God with his “Sunday pants and Sunday heart.”
At 12:10 p.m., Willie Francis was pronounced dead.
The Good Will Mutual Aid Association funded his funeral, and mourners carried his casket through St. Martinville before his burial in Union Baptist Cemetery.
To this day, doubts remain about his guilt. Key evidence vanished, alternative suspects were ignored, and his confession —made under duress and riddled with inconsistencies—was never scrutinized in court. Whether he was guilty or not, his trial and execution represented a miscarriage of justice, one that remains a dark stain on the history of American law.
Source:
https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1975&context=faculty_scholarship
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/tag/willie-francis
