Scottsboro boys
Racism and bias run through our so called justice system, how can we say we practice fair punishment until everyone is treated equal in the court room? At a time when racial tension was high, 9 boys were wrongly arrested and held to an unfair trial that would have brought them to their death if it wasn’t for the international attention that the boys gained due to its demonstration of blatant racial discrimination, as well as the lawyers association with a U.S communist party
Who were the Scottsboro boys? The name not only implies their youth but, due to the time and place, their racial inferiority. The nine boys, aged 13 to 21 were all illiterate, one of them was nearly blind and another disabled (Scottsboro Case, SIRS Discoverer.) …show more content…
The nine defendants received inadequate defense from two volunteer lawyers and were convicted by all-white jury on the basis of extremely weak evidence” (Scottsboro boys case) the cases were twice argued before the supreme court despite evidence that exonerated the accused. Eight of the young men (excluding the 13 year old who was sentenced to life in prison) was sentenced to death. Case may have been put to rest there if it wasn’t for the involvement of the international labor defense (an American communist party) the party recognized the potential the case proposed as a way for them to gain some ground against the government and spread propaganda by using the peoples the struggle against racism to gain new recruits. The ILD quickly gained respect from those of the defendants and not only went about winning the case through the legal system but also encouraged a relentless stream of media campaign sponsoring rallies, parades and speaking tours. When the group went to the Supreme Court they gained permission for a retrial. In 1933 one of the women that initially accused the boys of rape admitted to the event never happening when a judge went to the medical examiner the second testimony was proven true. In 1995 new trials were again once again ordered due to the unfair jury where 4 of the men were let free and the other four were sentenced to
Racism and bias run through our so called justice system, how can we say we practice fair punishment until everyone is treated equal in the court room? At a time when racial tension was high, 9 boys were wrongly arrested and held to an unfair trial that would have brought them to their death if it wasn’t for the international attention that the boys gained due to its demonstration of blatant racial discrimination, as well as the lawyers association with a U.S communist party
Who were the Scottsboro boys? The name not only implies their youth but, due to the time and place, their racial inferiority. The nine boys, aged 13 to 21 were all illiterate, one of them was nearly blind and another disabled (Scottsboro Case, SIRS Discoverer.) …show more content…
The nine defendants received inadequate defense from two volunteer lawyers and were convicted by all-white jury on the basis of extremely weak evidence” (Scottsboro boys case) the cases were twice argued before the supreme court despite evidence that exonerated the accused. Eight of the young men (excluding the 13 year old who was sentenced to life in prison) was sentenced to death. Case may have been put to rest there if it wasn’t for the involvement of the international labor defense (an American communist party) the party recognized the potential the case proposed as a way for them to gain some ground against the government and spread propaganda by using the peoples the struggle against racism to gain new recruits. The ILD quickly gained respect from those of the defendants and not only went about winning the case through the legal system but also encouraged a relentless stream of media campaign sponsoring rallies, parades and speaking tours. When the group went to the Supreme Court they gained permission for a retrial. In 1933 one of the women that initially accused the boys of rape admitted to the event never happening when a judge went to the medical examiner the second testimony was proven true. In 1995 new trials were again once again ordered due to the unfair jury where 4 of the men were let free and the other four were sentenced to