WHEREAS:

On April 30^th, 1944, E.B. Knight, of Randolph County, Georgia was shot and killed; and,

WHEREAS:

Lena Baker was arrested by the Randolph County Sheriff and admitted that she fired the shot that killed E.B. Knight, claiming self-defense; and,

WHEREAS:

E.B. Knight was a prominent member of the local community and Lena Baker was not; and,

WHEREAS:

The weight of the evidence was such that Lena baker could have been charged with Voluntary Manslaughter, rather than murder, for the death of E.B. Knight; and,

WHEREAS:

Nonetheless, Lena Baker was tried for Murder in Randolph County, Georgia on August 14, 1944; and,

WHEREAS:

The jury found Lena Baker guilty of murder and failed to recommend mercy, thereby requiring the judge to sentence her to death by electrocution; and,

WHEREAS:

Lena Baker's court-appointed attorney failed to appeal her conviction to the Georgia Supreme Court; and,

WHEREAS:

Lena Baker requested mercy from this Board and was denied on January 3, 1945; and,

WHEREAS:

On March 5, 1945, Lena Baker was executed by electrocution at Georgia State Prison, the only woman ever electrocuted in this state; and,

WHEREAS:

While the Board does not find that Lena baker was innocent of this crime, the Board's decision in 1946 to deny clemency to Lena Baker on her sentence of death by electrocution was a grievous error as this case called out for mercy; and,

WHEREAS:

Be it now hereby proclaimed by the members of the State Board of Pardons and paroles, that the Board should have granted Lena Baker clemency on her death sentence and in recognition of this wrong does hereby grant her posthumously a full and unconditional pardon.