Scottsboro Tragedy Vs To Kill A Mockingbird

Charles Weems was arrested in March 1931 at the age of nineteen, making him the oldest of the Scottsboro Boys. He was convicted of rape first in 1931, then again in a second trial in 1937. In prison, Weems suffered from tuberculosis and was stabbed by a prison guard who had mistaken him for Andy Wright. He was finally released in 1943.

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.

Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, racism was still a huge part in our society and this is demonstrated through the Scottsboro Trial and the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The first place this is shown, was after everybody heard about the supposed rape of the white girls. There were protests and tons of people showing hate towards the black men. Another example of this, was all the assumptions white people made, that the only logical explanation for the incident was that the black men raped the white girls. This assumption was without listening to the evidence or facts proving the man's innocence during the trial.

In Bruce’s article he talks about how after the Scottsboro boys were proven guilty in the original trial, bigger powers came in and took over. Slowly they were all proven innocent and released. Although, this might be a reason to fight back then, it was pointless,because the men’s lives were already ruined anyway. Four defendants were released from jail in 1937. One of the boys escaped prison and fled to Michigan, where authorities refused to arrest him.

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.

The forefathers of the United States built this country on the ideals of freedom and equality for all people. Unfortunately, the fight for equality and freedom did not end with the revolutionary war. The fight has continued throughout the decades. Many of these issues were fought in the courtroom. Auburn University created an online Alabama Encyclopedia, there, the following quote stated, “Scottsboro became an international cause celebre that dramatically encapsulated the American south troubled post reconstruction history of legal and extralegal racial violence, the social and political upheaval of the great depression, and the lingering cultural divide between the north and south.”

To Kill a Mockingbird and Mississippi Trial, 1955 are novels that tell the story of young children living in the 1900’s, when the world was full of racism. In the realistic fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the nonfiction novel, Mississippi Trial, 1955, by Chris Crowe, tell the stories of two Negro men suffering the wrath of white men. There will be a glimpse into the cruel situations the blacks had to endure. Characters in the books, watch innocent men get convicted, watch juries turn away from justice, and how the characters' grow with the knowledge they gain. Lee and Crowe’s trials have the same idea when it comes to their causes, development, and outcomes, like watching their justice system give no justice at all, truly changes

Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963 a church bombing took place. 16th street Baptist church was a segregated church it belongs to the colored men and women of the town. There was 4 girls deaths and 14 injured during church service. The 4 victims were Addie Mae Collins age 14,Densie

In the quote it demonstrates how Atticus has to simply explain to the Scout, you should never look at someone differently based on how much money they have. You should look at them for who they are. Some people are not as fortunate as others, it is not there fault, but like they Cunningham 's, they find a way. Atticus did not only open the kids eyes to how you should not judge someone, but also, to stand up for what you believe in, despite what others might say. When Atticus is presented with the Tom Robinson case, without much thought, he says yes to being his lawyer.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee about a young girl’s life in Alabama during the 1930s. Harper Lee wrote TKAM to bring attention to the racism that had been ongoing in the South. Some important topics related to this novel are the Scottsboro trials, the 1930s in the South, and social class. The Scottsboro Trials involved nine black teens accused of raping and attacking white teens on a train. Also, "The initial trials happened quickly, with as little as a day for each trial" (The Scottsboro Boys Trial).

The four whites contained two male and two female. The white gang had gone to the train station and told the trainmaster that blacks had attacked them. They gathered people and went to the train's next stop to talk with the blacks. While there two white girls, known as Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, told the people who had gathered that they were gang raped by the blacks. The boys were sent to jail.

Nine boys Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Eugene Williams, and Andrew and Roy Wright were accused of raping two white women on a freight train, on March 24, 1931. The boys were caught for illegally riding on a freight train, and were originally charged with that until one of the police found the two white women VIctoria Price, and Ruby Bates and pressured them into saying that the boys had raped them on the freight tra in. All the Scottsboro boys were sentenced to death in the first trial, except Roy Wright who was only 13 was sentenced to life in prison. After two more trials with an all white jury, got the attention of the nation because it was showing how racist the U.S court system was. Ruby Bates eventually went out and retold her statement saying that she was pressured into telling the jury that the Scottsboro boys had raped them.

Comparison between The Scottsboro Trials and The Crucible “The last Scottsboro Boy is released from prison 45 years after the wrongful conviction” (Scottsboro Boys). In 1931, nine young, black men were on a train, yet at the same time, two women, who were dressed like men on the train, claimed the nine black men had raped both women. All nine men were tried, with eight receiving the death sentence, and the youngest receiving life in prison. There are striking similarities between the Scottsboro Boys and The Crucible, including how there was no evidence produced at either trial, the consequences given to the innocent were unreasonable, and the unfair justice used in both trials involving race and social class. Both in the Scottsboro Boys

Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.

A mob came to Tom and Atticus, and was luckily broken up by Scout before anyone got hurt. "In March, nine African-American young men are accused of raping two white women. Their case begins on April 6 and they are quickly convicted of the crimes. However, the case of the Scottsboro Boys soon receives national attention