The Scottsboro Trial Essay

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The Scottsboro Trials
The Scottsboro Trials was an affair done by nine African American males who allegedly raped two innocent white women, and they were tried for their act. The raping of the women, whose names were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, took place on a train from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Memphis, Tennessee on March 25, 1931. A quote about this can be portrayed as, “Two dozen or so, mainly male-and mainly young-whites and blacks, rode the Southern Railroad's Chattanooga to Memphis freight on March 25, 1931” (Linder). The nine African American boys were called the “Scottsboro Boys” because they were arrested in Scottsboro, Tennessee. The crisis was determined by the train ride, the numerous trials, and the outcome of the trials.
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The judge of the case was Judge A. E. Hawkins. The interesting fact about the case was that people, like newspaper reporters, were already making conclusions as to what would happen to the African American men before the trial was even started. The representatives of the boys were lawyers Milo Moody and Stephen Roddy. The lawyers wanted to try the Scottsboro Boys together rather than separate from each other. During the trial, Victoria Price was heard, and that caused eight of the nine boys to be condemned to the death penalty, while the twelve year old Roy Wright was ordered for a mistrial because of his age. The Communist Party wanted the full demand of the case, hoping to attract northern liberals and southern African Americans. The Communists fought hard for a retrial of the boys because they believed they deserved a fair trial. Votes took place, and the idea of a reelection became …show more content…
Life after the trial was unpleasant for the Scottsboro Boys. They faced many years in prison, and many conspiracies and rumors about them were spread all over the country. Many of the boys were released after serving years in prison, but most of them made bad decisions that caused them to either die or find themselves back in prison and then die. A quote about this, “When the saga finally ended, all of the defendants were finally released. But not after they had served an average of ten years for the phantom crime” (History). The trials of the Scottsboro Trials also served as a turning point for the country’s judicial system giving minorities, such as African Americans, a fair and equal trial. The Scottsboro Trials proved a point that everyone in this country is equal and deserves full

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