The Scottsboro Trial

January 2013

The Scottsboro Trial

Nathalie Bourget & Julia Schmidt

How it All Started:

How it all started:

Our Sources:

In Stevenson Alabama a fight started in between a group of 5 white boys and 9 black boys hoboing* on a train. After the white boys got thrown off the train they reported to the Stevenson train master that the black boys had assaulted two white women still on the train. The train master telegraphed ahead to the next station where law enforcement officers got onto the train and arrested the boys. The two white women came forward and accused the blacks of raping them.

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/sb_hrrep.html

http://byronhinson.edu.glogster.com/the-scottsboro-trials-7840

Important People:

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

Defensive:

-March 25, 1921

What:

The Boys: Haywood Patterson, Olen Montgomery, Clarence Norris, Willie Roberson, Andy Wright, Ozie Powell, Charlie Weems, Eugene Williams & Roy Wright

Defensive Attorney: Sam Leibowitz

Judge: James Horton Jr. (Supreme Court Judge)

Alf Hawkins (Judge is Alabama)

Two girls, whom accused the Scottsboro Boys of rape. Were pressured to by the Paint Rock police and were in great need to hide the fact that one of the girls was underage. Also, It was illegal to bring a minor over state lines, and the girls were going to work in prostitution. This trial is also a big example of how racism was such a big problem back then.

Prosecutors:

The Boys: Orville Gilley was the only name we could find, which personally we find quite sad and horrific that the actual people who started this whole mess aren't even being vilified for the terrible damage (also a felony) that they committed. Orville Gilley was also the only white man left on the train when the Scottsboro boys got arrested. Whats also disgusting is the fact that the boys who accused them were the ones whose names weren't found.

The End...

The girls: Victoria Price and Ruby Bates (the underage)

Hoboing- To hop onto a train without paying- for example these boys hopped onto the train most likely just as it was leaving the station and lots

people did this during the 1930's.

The Prosecuting Attorney: George Chamlee

Thank you for listening.

Similarities Between the Trial and

'To Kill A Mockingbird'

Julia Schmidt & Nathalie Bourget

The Scottsboror Trial and the trial of Tom Robinson in 'To Kill A Mockingbird' are very similar due to a large amount of reasons:

• These were both American infamous trials.
• The time period: The 1930s during the Great Depression where there was rivalry for the few avaliable jobs.
• The location: .
• Mayella Ewell, a white girl, falsely accused Tom Robinson, an African-American of raping her. At Scottsboro 2 white girls falsely accused 9 African-American teenagers of raping them.
• Tom was found guilty eventhough he had a great lawyer unlike the unpaid one at Scottsboro who was unpaid, fell asleep, hadn't been to trial in decades let alone was drunk.

About the Trial...

When:

In the beginning...

The trial happened in the 1930's which is during the Great Depression

this explains why the people witnessing the 'offense' were all hoboing

onto the train.

Also this explains why racism against black people was so strong, even though slavery in America had been abolished in the middle-late 1860's their was still a very strong hold against the fact that 'White people were better that black people.'

• Both Tom Robinson and all black teenagers were found guilty by a biased and prejudiced jury who went with what the public thought and not with what the evidence pointed to.
• The jury ignored evidence in both cases. In 'To Kill A Mockingbird' they ignored the fact that Mr. Robinson had a useless right arm and in Scottsboro they ignored and covered up that the 2 white girls were prostitutes who had slept with the companions they were travelling with.
• The presecutors were white and quite poor which caused a critical issue.

Why:

The only reason this Trial happened was that the group of black boys were in the wrong place at the wrong time, if they didn't even hop onto the train none of them would have even been in this position in the first place, but it's not even their fault and they aren't even to blame for the whole ordeal.

The Middle....