The Scottsboro Case: A landmark Case and Its Impact on Capital Punishment Cases America in the 1930s was a time of change. Racism was now being defended for in the court of law. One of the most remembered cases in 1931 occured on the railways, nine black men were falsely accused of raping two women riding the train. Why would nine black get the blame for the so-called “rape?” The Scottsboro Case was a landmark case in the state of Alabama that raised tensions about the issue of capital punishment. “On March 25, 1931, nine black youths aged 13 to 21, hopped on a freight train in Alabama in a quest for work.” (“The Scottsboro Boys Case”). Riding on the freight train in search of work during the Great Depression was not unusual, many were forced off farms. The word of a chance of work had spread. The rail ways was the only transport to the work hundreds of miles away, so the only way to travel was hopping on the train, illegally. America was than a segregated country, whites had the majority of the population and ruled the states. Civil rights had not been in act yet, but the incident of the southbound railroad car, spurred the …show more content…
The railways were not to be used for sexual-activity, especially no minors crossing state lines for prostitution. On March 25th, two young girls named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were caught crossing state lines, and were charged with vagrancy and illegal sexual-activity. To get away with the illegal activity, the two girls accused the nine black men of raping them. The nine boys were falsely accused of raping the two girls abroad. (“The Scottsboro Boys Case.”) “While there was no real evidence to support a charge of gang rape, the hysterical atmosphere surrounding the trial insured their conviction.” The nine boys were tried in court several times, with several public offenders and lawyers who did not put much effort into the
Scottsboro Boys Case The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American teenagers, ages 13 to 20, accused in Alabama of raping two White American women on a train in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a miscarriage of justice in the United States legal system.
1775-1783, The American Revolutionary War: During the American Revolutionary War, Britain and the colonies in America fought about the tax increase that Britain wanted to impose on them. Britain wanted the colonies to help pay for most of the damages caused by the French and Indian War (1754-1763). In order to do this, the British increased taxes for many items, such as sugar and stamps. This causes a huge uproar in the American Colonies, and as a result, thousands of Americans died in the war; either in the battle, British imprisonment, or from widespread diseases. 1787, The New Constitution:
The defense team against the boys was very biased and contributed sketchy evidence. Court is not something to be messed around with. Taking a lie and bringing it to court is a very daring thing to do. This event took place in Scottsboro, a city located in Alabama, part of the Deep South.
Throughout history, there have been many “witch hunts” that have created mass hysteria. Two of which were called the Salem Witch Trials and the Scottsboro Case. The two trials have many similarities to each other and so have many other trials. The Scottsboro Trials, in summary, was about nine young black men being accused of raping two young white women.
Scottsboro Trials Racism played a part in the Scottsboro trial. According to Jack Schafer, racism is the intentional abuse of social custom and legislative power that prevents a race to make decision. Racism can happens for many reasons one is that people push other races down to gain higher status (Rutledge). Another reason people would discriminate against other races is to keep power over those people (Schafer). From the Scottsboro trails the reader can see both of these reasons.
The sheriff then made the decision to stop the train in Paint Rock, Alabama and search it. Directly after the train was halted, two young Caucasian women by the
The Scottsboro tragedy showed the world and the North of the U.S how bad the racism problem was in the South. That was all these trials were based on. Alabama wanted to kill these men just because of the color of their skin, no real evidence. These trials revealed that injustice and caused the civil rights movement to become more supported. Although this incident was a sad time for the U.S, it helped uncover a lot of problems in the South and helped our judicial system change to be more
The Scottsboro trials was an event where nine black boys were accused of rape by two white woman, and they went through a series of trials. The Scottsboro tragedy impacted and shaped our nation and its history being one of the earliest times whites and blacks fought together, and getting rid of how the south saw "justice", and lastly the stereotype that
Under this white supremacy ideology, black men were envisioned as animalistic, sex-driven rapists who would attempt to assault a white woman at any opportunity. Throughout the case, the sex and race of the defendants and alleged victims were more significant than what actually occurred. Despite the defense's efforts to diminish the reign of white supremacy in Alabama, the all white jury convicted the Scottsboro
The Scottsboro case contributed to this situation in a very large way. Before the case blacks were automatically judged because the color of their skin. The two women who were allegedly raped on the train were white. All eight of the men accused were black men under the age of twenty. Considering these things it is obvious to see that many people treated the Scottsboro boys differently, because of their skin color.
The poor farmers were hit the hardest during this time, forcing the women to get out of the home and work to make ends meet, while the better off families did not have to endure as much. Another influential highlight of this time period in Alabama was the Scottsboro Case. In the 1930s, there was ample attention towards the “Scottsboro Boys”, nine black youths falsely charged with raping two white women in Alabama. No crime in American history-- let alone a crime that never occurred-- produced as many trials, convictions, reversals, and retrials as did an alleged gang rape of two white girls by nine black teenagers on a Southern Railroad freight run on March 25, 1931. This case depicted the extent of barbarous treatment of blacks.
In the early 1930s, a group of African American boys were accused of raping two women aboard a train in southern Alabama being called the “Scottsboro Boys.” The boys were not given a fair trial because of the racial injustice in the south during this time. The trial was even brought to the supreme court which would help overturn the verdicts in favor of the boys. This trial was extremely significant because it really brought to light the racial injustice and inequality present during this time, especially in the legal system, as well as being a kind of spark for the civil rights movement in America.
The Scottsboro Trials and To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the famous father named Atticus says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it (Judith 2). This quote is said during a time of intense racism. “Not long after Obama took office, the National Urban League released its 2009 State of Black America report. The findings showed that racial inequities continued in employment, housing, health care, education, criminal justice, and other areas” (Buckley 1). This essay will primarily focus on the criminal justice area of this when discussing the Scottsboro trials and comparing the trials to the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Many people were hopping onto freight trains to travel to the next city in hopes of finding work. A website and museum dedicated to the Scottsboro boys described the event which led to their imprisonment. A museum and organization that speaks on the boys lives and what injustice they had said that on March 25, 1931 nine black teens ages thirteen to nineteen and many other people were aboard a freight train heading South (“History”). A famous author and historian said a fight broke out when a white male stepped on Haywood Patterson 's hand. A stone throwing fight ensued.
Two mill girls hoboed their way by a freight train from Huntsville, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee (Ransdall). The two mill girls, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates told members of the posse (men the sheriff would summon to enforce the law) they have been raped