SCOTTSBORO BOYs; 1931
The "Encyclopedia of Alabama" talks about the trials of the Scottsboro Boys. The Scottsboro Boys Trial was a representation of the injustice legal system in the Jim Crow South. On March 25, 1931, nine boys in Scottsboro were falsely accused of raping two white women. The boys that were charged were Olen Montgomery, Haywood Patterson, Ozzie Powell, Willie Roberson, Charlie Weems, Eugene Williams, Roy Wright, Andy Wright, and Clarence Norris. Most of the Scottsboro Boys had to stay in prison for a long time.
Though there was no evidence of rape, 8 of the boys were sentence to death and one of them (Roy Wright) of them was sentence to life imprisonment. In May 27, 1932 the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case. In January 1933, Samuel S. Leibowitz defends the Scottsboro Boys. Even when Ruby Bates denies rape occurred, the trials went on. On April 1st, 1935 there was the case Norris v. Alabama. In Norris V. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court finds exclusion of blacks on jury rolls deprived black defendants of their rights to equal protection under the law as guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment.
On January 24, 1936, while being transported back to Birmingham Jail, Ozie Powell pulls a knife and slashes Deputy Edgar Blalock's throat. Sheriff Jay Sandlin stops the car and shoots Powell in the head. Both Blalock and Powell survive. Later, Ozie Powell pleads guilty to assaulting Blalock and is sentenced to 20 years. Also, rape charges are dropped. On July 24, 1937, Rape charges against the last four defendants, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Eugene Williams, and Roy Wright, are dropped.
On November 17, 1938, Weems is released on parole. On January 1944, Andy Wright and Clarence Norris are released on parole, but later they violate parole. Norris is released again in 1946 and Andy in June 1950. In 1948, Patterson escapes and he is later charged with manslaughter after killing a man at a barroom brawl. In August 1952, Haywood dies of cancer. In 1959, Roy Wright dies. On January 1989, Clarence Norris dies. Norris was the last of the Scottsboro boys. These boy’s lives were wasted because of a crime they did not commit.
Below is the timeline of the Scottsboro Boys
Information:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/SB_chron.html
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/timelines/a/Timeline-Of-Scottsboro-Boys.htm
Pictures:
http://sgw-law.com/great-criminal-lawyer-samuel-leibowitz/
www.anorak.co.uk
aw2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/SB_bPATT.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/peopleevents/p_lwright.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25046096
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_states_supreme_court_building.png
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/peopleevents/p_norris.html
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/SB_chron.html
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/timelines/a/Timeline-Of-Scottsboro-Boys.htm
Pictures:
http://sgw-law.com/great-criminal-lawyer-samuel-leibowitz/
www.anorak.co.uk
aw2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/SB_bPATT.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/peopleevents/p_lwright.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25046096
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_states_supreme_court_building.png
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/peopleevents/p_norris.html