History
Why Willie Francis Was Executed Twice
And the wrongs that caused the teenager’s cruel and untimely death.
Texas state authorities arrested a sixteen-year-old African American named Willie Francis in August of 1945. Allegedly, Francis had in his possession a wallet owned by Andrew Thomas — a pharmacist who was murdered nine months prior.
Francis became the number one suspect of Thomas’s murder, but no such wallet was ever submitted during his trial.
This was but one of the many injustices which led to Francis’s demise.
Sham Trial
Francis first told investigators about other parties involved in the murder, but they quickly dismissed it. A few hours of interrogation afterward yielded a letter by Francis saying:
“It was a secret about me and him.”
Authorities took this as an undeniable confession to the crime. Willie Francis had no lawyer during this process.
According to police reports, Francis then directed investigators to where he disposed of the murder weapon. The gun they discovered belonged to a deputy sheriff from their town — a man who had long been threatening to kill Andrew Thomas.
