Charles Stinson, aged 35, was one of the victims in a tragic mass murder that occurred on July 27, 1977, in Carol City, Florida. This incident, known as the Carol City murders, involved a brutal home invasion at a drug house where Stinson and five others were executed. The perpetrators, John Errol Ferguson, Marvin Francois, and Beauford White, entered the house, tied up eight individuals, and shot them in the head execution-style.
Stinson, along with Henry Clayton, Randolph Holmes, Michael Miller, Livingston Stocker, and Gilbert Williams, were killed, while two others survived the attack.
The Carol City murders were part of a series of violent crimes committed by Ferguson and his accomplices between 1974 and 1978. Ferguson, the ringleader, had a long history of criminal behavior and mental health issues. Diagnosed as dangerous and homicidal, he had previously been involved in multiple robberies, assaults, and even attempted murder of a police officer. Despite his violent tendencies, Ferguson was released from a mental hospital just months before the Carol City massacre.
Following the murders, an extensive investigation led to the capture and prosecution of Ferguson, Francois, and White. The trial revealed the gruesome details of the crime, and all three men were sentenced to death. Francois was executed in 1985, White in 1987, and Ferguson, after numerous appeals regarding his sanity, was executed by lethal injection in 2013. The case remains one of the most notorious in Miami-Dade County's history, highlighting the brutal nature of the crime and the lengthy legal battles that ensued.
