Scottosboro+Boys

[|Scottsboro Boy]

The Scottsboro Boys case took place in Scottsboro, Albama and involved nine African Americanboys who were acused falsley in 1931 and quickly sentenced to death for the rape of two young white women they didnt even do. Eventually, after the Supreme Court twice reversed the boys' sentence on procedural grounds, charges against five of the young men were dropped and the state took up the question of parole for the rest. The case attracted national and international attention because it demonstrated blatant racial discrimination operating in the Southern criminal justice system. A group of lawyers linked to the U.S.communist party, the International Labor Defense, represented the defendants, conducting a strong legal defense at the same time also engaged in political propaganda attacking the American government for its racism.

The events began on March 25, 1931 with a racial skirmish between blacks and whites who were riding on a Southern freight train. In the fight all the white men except for one were forced off. At a subsequent stop in Paint Rock, Alabama, the police arrested nine black youths from 13 to 21 years old and charged them with assault. Also, on the train were discovered two white women—Victoria Price, 21, and Ruby Bates, 17—dressed in boy's clothing. They were all taken to the Scottsboro, the county seat, and the women eventually agreed to testify against the nine youth, who were now accused of rape.

The nine boys were quickly tried in April. The nine defendants received inadequate defense from two volunteer lawyers and were convicted by all-white jury on the basis of extremely weak evidence. They were sentenced to die in the electric chair except for the 13 year old, who received life in prison. The trials' manifest unfairness and the harshness of the punishment attracted national attention. [|1]