What Are The Similarities Between To Kill A Mockingbird And The Scottsboro Boys Trial

The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the article “Scottsboro Boys Trial” both contain controversial court cases. For “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. In the “Scottsboro Boys Trial” nine young black men and teenagers are accused of raping two white women named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Both cases transpired in the 1930s in Alabama. This is bad for the accused as racism was at an all-time in the 1930s especially in the deep south. This was around the time when the Jim Crow Laws were still intact and black people were not still considered people and they would still lynch black people. If a black man was accused of any crime involving a white

They used them as a scapegoat as they knew they could get away with it if they did. Mayella Ewell was a very lonely person as she did not have any friends, an alcoholic abusive father, and having to take care of many younger siblings by herself. It would make sense why she made advances to Tom Robinson, the only person who may have been kind to her in any way. She tried to tempt him which was a very taboo thing to do at that time period. She was ashamed of what she did, so to get rid of that guilt she made a ridiculous allegation about Tom. It is a different but somewhat similar story for the Scottsboro Boys Trial. Ruby Bates admitted that the rape did not happen. Victoria Price, who was a prostitute and an adulterer, brought Ruby Bates, who was 17 at the time, and herself over state lines for prostitution. This was an illegal thing for Price to do as she is transporting a minor for the means of prostitution. She was very much afraid of the posse arresting her for the crime she committed so she, like Mayella, made up this ridiculous lie about the nine boys raping them. When trying to explain Mayella actions Atticus states,"She did

There was not one black person in either of the jury, as both cases featured an all-white jury. This is a very bad thing for black people who are ever accused of anything. Since both cases took place in the deep south of the 1930s, the racism was quite possibly at an all-time high and the Jim Crow Laws were in its pure effect. Nothing could have gone worse for black people at a time like this. They were considered socially as second-class citizens. If they were accused of any sort of crime, the verdict usually came out as guilty and the sentence to death and jail time depending on the crime. A good reason why this happens is not only racism but that the jury is usually all-white. Although one of the rights of an accused person is to be judged by a jury of their peers. However, the black people would usually never be judged by a jury of the peers because most of the jury consists of entirely of Caucasians. Unfortunately, none of the jury consist even one black person already decided their own fate. It might have helped their case if there were to be. In TKAM, Atticus made an excellent point stating, “I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better