Case Analysis: The First Scottsboro Trial

On March 25, 1931, nine black men, illegally riding a freight train and looking for work, were kicked off the rails at Scottsboro, Alabama and held on charges. Two white women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, were told by Scottsboro deputies to accuse the nine black men of raping them on board the train. The group of black teenagers had to fight against a false accusation. The charge of raping white women was an explosive accusation, and within two weeks the Scottsboro Boys were convicted and eight were sentenced to death. n the first trial, the Scottsboro boys were denied their rights to an experienced and professional attorney. In Powell v. Alabama, the court reversed the convictions of the boys on account of an inept lawyer. This court case also played a major role in the development of due process rights by providing an experienced attorney for the convicted if they cannot afford one. In the majority of their court appearances, they were not given a fair trial. This was because the jury did not have of any african americans, but had instead an all white …show more content…
In November 1943, the Alabama Parole Board met for a fourth time. This time, they paroled Charlie Weems, Andy Wright, Clarence Norris and Ozie Powell. Only Haywood Patterson remained. After their release, the Scottsboro boys continued to live troubled lives. For instance, Haywood Patterson, after escaping prison, killed a man in a bar fight and died of cancer in a Michigan prison, Andy Wright was falsely accused of rape and Roy Wright killed his wife and then committed suicide. Only ClarenceNorris made a life for himself. He became a sanitation worker, married twice, raised a family and fought to get a full pardon from the State of Alabama. Finally in 1976, Clarence Norris was pardoned and had his name cleared in all legal