Difference between revisions of "Scottsboro case"
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The '''Scottsboro case''' was a miscarriage of justice in the 1930s that is primarily important because the Communist Party seized on it to recruit black members, much to the annoyance of the civil rights leaders who were trying to save the defendants from the death penalty. | The '''Scottsboro case''' was a miscarriage of justice in the 1930s that is primarily important because the Communist Party seized on it to recruit black members, much to the annoyance of the civil rights leaders who were trying to save the defendants from the death penalty. | ||
==Incident== | ==Incident== | ||
| − | The Scottsboro incident of 1931 involed | + | The Scottsboro incident of 1931 involed nine young black men who were convicted of raping two white women on a freight train on its way through Alabama. A sheriff's posse stopped the freight train because of reports black youths had assaulted several white young men on that same train earlier in the day. All were part of the growing teenage hobo culture during the Great Depression and rode the trains in search of work or adventure. Within hours, two white women among the freight riders also accused the black prisoners of gang rape. They were indicted and tried in April, 1931, in three groups, each trial being completed in a single day. The juries found the defendants guilty and imposed the death penalty on all. |
==Supreme Court== | ==Supreme Court== | ||
| − | On appeal to the Supreme Court the civil rights lawyers argued argued that | + | On appeal to the Supreme Court the civil rights lawyers argued argued that defendants (1) had been denied the right to counsel; (2) had not been given a fair and impartial trial; and (3) had been tried before juries from which blacks were systematically excluded. They argued that these allegations constituted a denial of due process of law and equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amendment. |
| + | |||
| + | Speaking for a majority of seven in Powell v. Alabama (1932), Justice George Sutherland declared that the Alabama trial court had failed to give the defendants reasonable time to secure counsel, which was a denial of due process. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Supreme Court ordered new trials. Along the way the case again went to the Supreme Court which in Norris v. Alabama (1935), overturned convictions and ordered new trials because the state excluded African Americans from juries. The final result was lengthy prison sentences for four of the defendants; the dismissal of rape charges for five, a prison term for unrelated charges for one, and the release of four after they had languished in jail for six years. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Supreme Court decisions helped establish the federal constitutional right to counsel in all state criminal cases, because it is inherent in [[due process]], and the illegality of systematicly excluding blacks from juries. | ||
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==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
Revision as of 01:02, August 13, 2009
The Scottsboro case was a miscarriage of justice in the 1930s that is primarily important because the Communist Party seized on it to recruit black members, much to the annoyance of the civil rights leaders who were trying to save the defendants from the death penalty.
Incident
The Scottsboro incident of 1931 involed nine young black men who were convicted of raping two white women on a freight train on its way through Alabama. A sheriff's posse stopped the freight train because of reports black youths had assaulted several white young men on that same train earlier in the day. All were part of the growing teenage hobo culture during the Great Depression and rode the trains in search of work or adventure. Within hours, two white women among the freight riders also accused the black prisoners of gang rape. They were indicted and tried in April, 1931, in three groups, each trial being completed in a single day. The juries found the defendants guilty and imposed the death penalty on all.
Supreme Court
On appeal to the Supreme Court the civil rights lawyers argued argued that defendants (1) had been denied the right to counsel; (2) had not been given a fair and impartial trial; and (3) had been tried before juries from which blacks were systematically excluded. They argued that these allegations constituted a denial of due process of law and equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amendment.
Speaking for a majority of seven in Powell v. Alabama (1932), Justice George Sutherland declared that the Alabama trial court had failed to give the defendants reasonable time to secure counsel, which was a denial of due process.
The Supreme Court ordered new trials. Along the way the case again went to the Supreme Court which in Norris v. Alabama (1935), overturned convictions and ordered new trials because the state excluded African Americans from juries. The final result was lengthy prison sentences for four of the defendants; the dismissal of rape charges for five, a prison term for unrelated charges for one, and the release of four after they had languished in jail for six years.
The Supreme Court decisions helped establish the federal constitutional right to counsel in all state criminal cases, because it is inherent in due process, and the illegality of systematicly excluding blacks from juries.
Further reading
- Acker, James R. Scottsboro and Its Legacy: The Cases That Challenged American Legal and Social Justice. (2007)