CJAD 415 Deborah Boyanski Week 5 Paper 2
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The Scottsboro Boys Case
Deborah Boyanski
Columbia College
CJAD 415
November 25, 2022
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The Scottsboro Boys Case
Factual Background of the Case
“The Scottsboro Boys” case represents one of the most famous cases in US history. Nine Black teenage boys, famously known as The Scottsboro Boys, were accused falsely of raping two white women aboard a train close to Scottsboro, Alabama, in 1931. Black teenagers' involvement with the whites aboard the train led to events that turned into many trials, convictions, reversals, and retrials. The women who accused the Black teenagers knew the crime
did not occur. The whites and Blacks had boarded the train to look for jobs in different places. During this fateful day, the young whites and Blacks boarded a train that plied the Southern Railroad’s Chattanooga to Memphis route. After the train had crossed the Alabama border, a white youth walking across the top of a tank car stepped on a black youth's hand. The black teenager's friends and the whites engaged in a stone-throwing fight. The black youths succeeded because the group had more individuals than the young whites (Linder, n.d.). Some young whites
forced out of the train went to report the matter to the stationmaster, and the fight between young
Americans turned into a rape case, where the Black teenagers were accused of gangraping two women.
The Evidence Introduced Against the Defendants at Trial
Before the trials began, the public or the whites believed that the accused were guilty. If given the slightest opportunity, groups of people around the court could have lynched the falsely accused Black teenagers. The prosecution decided to try the defendants in groups to avoid potential reversible errors associated with a single trial. Similarly, the prosecution relied on evidence from witnesses, including the victims of the 'gang rape' (Linder, n.d.). A doctor who
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examined the two women provided information that the prosecution could use to support the rape
charges against The Scottsboro Boys.
The prosecution relied heavily on information from witnesses, including the two women who had accused the Black teenagers of gang rape. For example, the prosecution and defence lawyers cross-examined Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. Witnesses claimed that the "gang" of nine Black boys had knives and pistols, which they used to violate the group of young whites aboard the train. Although six of the boys denied raping or seeing the two girls, the prosecution believed that each Black boy participated in the gang rape (Linder, n.d.). Three defendants who accepted the rape charges later acknowledged that the police had beaten and tortured them to influence their decision.
During trials of defendants such as Powell and Peterson, one of the boys' accusers, Bates,
recanted the initial testimony. She indicated that the two women decided to provide false information to draw attention to their immoral activities. The prosecution did not consider Bate's recanted testimony and failed to perform a well-articulated cross-examination of all witnesses. For example, a farmer known as Ory Dobbins provided information that cast doubts on his testimony. A cross-examination of information from witnesses indicated massive gaps, which the
jury failed to consider during the trials (Linder, n.d.). Relying on false testimonies made it clear that juries could not acknowledge or consider all case facts.
The Outcome of the Case at Trial and on Appeal
The defendants had already been deemed guilty even before trials had begun. The whites believed that the Black teenagers had committed the crimes considered as an atrocity against white women. Initial trials of the case occurred between 1931 and 1932. During this period, the all-white jury deliberated and quickly convicted the Scottsboro Boys. Eight boys received the
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death sentence while the youngest defendant, aged 13 years, was not sentenced as one jury favored life imprisonment (Linder, n.d.). Although the evidence presented had gaps, organizations, such as the ILD (International Labor Defense), defended the boys against systemic
racism.
During the trials, Judge James Horton noted that Victoria Price had lied in her testimony. During the defence’s motion hearing for a new trial after the boys had received death sentences, no one had expected such a motion to be granted. During the appeals, the US Supreme Court indicated that the Scottsboro defendants had been denied the right to counsel. The court overturned the Alabama verdicts, which provided a significant legal precedent for enforcing Black Americans' right to adequate or proper counsel. Other trials that followed had a similar outcome where the defendants, such as Patterson, were sentenced to death. Later retrials had the defendants sentenced to spend many years in prison, such as Patterson’s 75 years prison sentence
(Linder, n.d.). Rape charges against four defendants, including Williams, Montgomery, Roberson, and Leroy Wright, were dropped.
Legal Issues Involved and the Historical Significance of the Case in the American Legal
System
The Scottsboro Boys case represents one of US history's most famous and notorious cases. Judicial decisions rely on legal issues that emerge during court sessions. For example, during the Scottsboro case hearings, the prosecution used witness statements to convince the court of the defendant’s crimes. However, some legal issues emerged, such as the presentation of
false testimonies and the failure to grant the defendants the right to counsel. The right to an attorney helps to protect defendants from unfair trials (Davis, 2019). The success of individuals’
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cases depends on attorneys’ ability to provide an adequate defence, which was not the case with the Scottsboro case.
The trial of Black teenagers in the Scottsboro case highlighted the violation of defendants' rights because of their race. The prosecution provided evidence that had massive gaps, including allowing false witness testimonies. Developments of the case during the 1930s helped identify challenges Blacks encountered in the US, including discrimination, exclusion, and segregation. Civil rights groups used the Scottsboro case to initiate the civil rights movement
that influenced two critical Supreme Court rulings. The rulings established the significance of considering the rights of criminal defendants during trials, such as the right to counsel to ensure fair trial processes (Hoag, 2020). Through the Scottsboro case, the American legal system had to ensure adherence to the Due Process Clause and include African American juries as per the Equal Protection Clause.
Conclusion
The Scottsboro case represents a scenario where a fight between young Blacks and whites turned into a serious and notorious case in US history. The young whites had reported that
the Black teenagers had attacked them, which would have attracted a minor charge. However, Price and Bates reported that the Black teenagers had gang-raped them. The handling of the case,
including torturing and beating some of the defendants, revealed the extent of systemic racism in the US. Equally, the prosecution's desire to use false statements, such as the farmer's statement, indicated problems with the American legal system. The trials and retrials positively impacted the American criminal justice system because the Supreme Court rulings clarified the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.
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References
Davis, A. J. (2019). Reimagining prosecution: A growing progressive movement. UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review
, 3
(1).
Hoag, A. (2020). An unbroken thread: African American exclusion from jury service, past and present. Louisiana Law Review.
, 81
, 55-79.
Linder, D. O. (n.d.). The trials of "The Scottsboro Boys": An account. Famous Trials
. https://famous-trials.com/scottsboroboys/1531-home
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