Research Paper On The Scottsboro Trial

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. She joined the fight to end the unfair and racist trial. The trial was taken to the Supreme Court in 1937, because it started to become a huge deal. Their lives were saved, but it took more than 20 years to get all the boys out of jail.

Through April 9th, the rest of the boys were tried, and all were given the death sentence. Roy Wright’s trial ended on a hung jury as he was too young to be put to death in one juror’s eyes, but the rest voted for his execution. Patterson’s second trial was from March 27th to April 9th, 1933, and he was again found guilty and sentenced to death by electrocution. Through November and December of 1933, Patterson and Norris’ cases result in death penalties. In the beginning of 1936, Patterson is tried for the 3rd time with a different result; 75 years in prison. Norris is also tried for the 3rd time, at the start of the summer, but again is sentenced to