Female victim of Georgia electric chair honored today

By GREG BLUESTEIN

The Associated Press

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.

COPY, Georgia Dept. of Corrections Lena Baker was executed in 1945 after being found guilty of the murder of a white man.

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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.