Lena Baker was willing to take any job possible to support her three children. In the 1940s, she was hired by a white grist mill owner called Ernest Knight, who needed a maid and carer to look after him while he was recovering from a broken hip.
Knight was abusive towards Baker and often held her against her will. On 30 April, 1944, Knight locked Baker up inside the grist mill and tried to force her to have sex with him. He then produced a metal pipe and began to beat Baker. She managed to grab Knight’s gun and defend herself, shooting Knight dead in the process. She escaped and immediately alerted the authorities of what had happened. Regardless of this, during a time of racial segregation and suppression of African American rights in Georgia, she was found guilty by an all white, all male jury, and sentenced to death.
On 23 February, 1945, she entered the execution chamber. Her final words were: “What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has forgiven me. I have nothing against anyone. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good to me. I am ready to go. I am one in the number. I am ready to meet my God. I have a very strong conscience.”
In 2005 it was determined that her execution was unjust and she was granted a posthumous pardon, 60 years after she was executed.
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