December: Patterson is charged with murder after a fight in a bar. grants a While waiting for their trials, eight of the nine defendants were held in Kilby Prison. This astonished (and infuriated) many residents of Alabama and many other Southern states. '"[131], Sheila Washington founded the Scottsboro Boys Museum & Cultural Center in 2010 in Scottsboro. The nine, after nearly being lynched, were brought to trial in Scottsboro in April 1931, just three weeks after their arrests. [74], Leibowitz began his defense by calling Chattanooga resident Dallas Ramsey, who testified that his home was next to the hobo jungle mentioned earlier. January 23: Patterson is retried. boys are arrested on charges of assault. The Supreme Court, by a vote of 7-2, reverses the [6][7][8] A fight broke out between the white and black groups near the Lookout Mountain tunnel, and the whites were kicked off the train. Scottsboro Trial Collection, Cornell Law Library. On July 22, 1937, Andrew Wright was convicted of rape and sentenced to 99 years. His family planned on him going to Seminary school, but whether this happened is not certain. Thomas Knight, Jr. by now (May 1935) Lieutenant Governor, was appointed a special prosecutor to the cases.[126]. Patterson replied, "I told myself to say it. (Credit: AP Photo) Outraged by the Supreme Court's interference, Alabama again put the boys on trial. new trial. In 1936 one of the "boys", Ozzie Powell, was shot in the face and permanently disabled during an altercation with a sheriff's deputy in prison. [75], Train fireman Percy Ricks testified that he saw the two women slipping along the side of the train right after it stopped in Paint Rock, as if they were trying to escape the posse. The Alabama Supreme Court denies the defense motion for new trials. order to change her testimony. During the second trial's prosecution testimony, Victoria Price mostly stuck with her story, stating flatly that Patterson raped her. However, it would take several years for these young men's cases to be overturned. NAACP and International Labor Defense (ILD) battle for the [1] A group of whites gathered rocks and attempted to force all of the black men from the train. The Supreme Court sent the case back to Judge Hawkins for a retrial. Nor was she the first witness who tried to stare him down and, failing that, who seemed as if she were about to leap out of her seat and strike him. (2021, July 29). She said Patterson had fired a shot and ordered all whites but Gilley off the train. Leibowitz was escorted to the train station under heavy guard, and he boarded a train back to New York. November 20: The cases of the youngest defendants, Roy Wright, and Eugene Williams, are moved to Juvenile Court. [32], After the outburst, the defense of Patterson moved for a mistrial, but Judge Hawkins denied the motion and testimony continued. Home. June: Ozie Powell is released from prison on parole. African-American newspapers published news accounts and editorials of the events of the case. The nine young men are taken to Scottsboro, Ala. Early in 1936, Patterson was convicted for a fourth time, but sentenced to 75 years in prison. [27], During the defense testimony, defendant Charles Weems testified that he was not part of the fight, that Patterson had the pistol, and that he had not seen the white girls on the train until the train pulled into Paint Rock. The U. S. Supreme Court announces that it will review the Judge Horton was appointed. [105], Haywood Patterson took the stand, admitting he had "cussed" at the white teenagers, but only because they cussed at him first. Victoria Price, brought out for Bates to identify, glared at her. When Judge Horton announced his decision, Knight stated that he would retry Patterson. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed seven of the eight convictions, and granted 13-year-old Eugene Williams a new trial because he was a minor. 29, 2021, thoughtco.com/timeline-of-scottsboro-boys-45428. "[79] At one point, Knight demanded, "You were tried at Scottsboro?" The judge was replaced and the case tried under a judge who ruled frequently against the defense. 14. What did Samuel Leibowitz suggest to the court about Victoria Price's story? As to the "newly discovered evidence", the Court ruled: "There is no contention on the part of the defendants, that they had sexual intercourse with the alleged victim with her consent so the defendants would not be granted a new trial."[53]. However, G. Mennen Williams, governor of Michigan does not extradite Patterson to Alabama. Price's case was initially dismissed but she appealed. The case is overturned and sent to a lower court. His appointment to the case drew local praise. "[125], After the case was remanded, on May 1, 1935, Victoria Price swore new rape complaints against the defendants as the sole complaining witness. [77], Five of the original nine Scottsboro defendants testified that they had not seen Price or Bates until after the train stopped in Paint Rock. Grand jury indicts the nine Scottsboro boys for rape. In total, the Scottsboro nine were found guilty in three separate trials. Later, she worked in a New York state spinning factory until 1938; that year she returned to Huntsville. "[71], Leibowitz systematically dismantled each prosecution witness' story under cross-examination. This court intends to protect these prisoners and any other persons engaged in this trial. protesting the Alabama trials. He pleads guilty to assaulting a police officer and is sentenced to 20 years. and the He called the jury commissioner to the stand, asking if there were any blacks on the juror rolls, and when told yes, suggested his answer was not honest. "[66] The attorney tried to question her about a conviction for fornication and adultery in Huntsville, but the court sustained a prosecution objection. [109], He told them that they did not need to find corroboration of Price's testimony. "[70] Threats of violence came from the North as well. The decision of Judge James Horton to set aside the conviction of Haywood Patterson, despite the dire consequences that decision would have for his own career . [61] The locals resented his questioning of the official and "chewed their tobacco meditatively. The case went to the United States Supreme Court on October 10, 1932, amidst tight security. After hearing What movement did the Scottsboro Trials re-spark? privacy, Governor Graves interviews Scottsboro boys. April 1: In the case of Norris v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court decides that the exclusion of African-Americans on jury rolls did not protect African-American defendants of their rights to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Convicted of manslaughter after a barroom brawl in 1951, Patterson died of cancer in 1952. Leibowitz recognized that he was viewed by Southerners as an outsider, and allowed the local attorney Charles Watts to be the lead attorney; he assisted from the sidelines. ends Ozzie Powell is shot in the head by Sheriff Jay Sandlin April 9: Patterson is found guilty during his second trial. [52], The Court upheld the lower court's change of venue decision, upheld the testimony of Ruby Bates, and reviewed the testimony of the various witnesses. [31] On cross-examination, Roy Wright testified that Patterson "was not involved with the girls", but that "The long, tall, black fellow had the pistol. All the jurors agreed on his guilt, but seven insisted on the death sentence while five held out for life imprisonment (in cases like this, that was often an indication that the jurors believed the suspect was innocent but they were unwilling to go against community norms of conviction). When asked why she had initially said she had been raped, Bates replied, "I told it just like Victoria did because she said we might have to stay in jail if we did not frame up a story after crossing a state line with men." "'Exploding the Myth of the Black Rapist': Collective Memory and the Scottsboro Nine" in, This page was last edited on 21 April 2023, at 14:29. [104] Although the defense needed her testimony, by the time a deposition arrived, the case had gone to the jury and they did not hear it at all. Alan Blinder, Alabama Pardons 3 Scottsboro Boys After 80 Years, New York Times, November 21, 2013. That June, the court granted the boys a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court. Although rape was potentially a capital offense in Alabama, the defendants at this point were not allowed to consult an attorney. Horton ordered a new trial which would turn out to be the third for Patterson. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [100], Orville Gilley's testimony at Patterson's Decatur retrial was a mild sensation. For the last time now, stand back, take your finger out of his eye, and call him mister", causing gasps from the public seated in the gallery. As to representation, the Court found "that the defendants were represented by counsel who thoroughly cross examined the state's witnesses, and presented such evidence as was available. Did Ory Dobbins frame them? [133] It is located in the former Joyce Chapel United Methodist Church and is devoted to exploring the case and commemorating the search for justice for its victims. Attorney General Knight warned Price to "keep your temper. [73], The prosecution withdrew the testimony of Dr. Marvin Lynch, the other examining doctor, as "repetitive." https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-scottsboro-boys-45428 (accessed May 1, 2023). are added But even with her revised testimony and evidence from the initial medical examination of the women that refuted the rape charge, another all-white jury convicted the first defendant, Patterson, and recommended the death penalty. ", National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Communist Party USA and African Americans, False accusations of rape as justification for lynchings, "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy Transcript", "Governor Bentley's Statement on the Pardoning of the Scottsboro Boys", "The Trials of "The Scottsboro Boys": An Account", "American Civil Liberties Union report of change of venue testimony", "The Scottsboro Boys: Injustice in Alabama", "Doomed Man Confesses to Three Ax Murders", "The International Labor Defense | American Experience | PBS", "Scottsboro Boys pardon nears as Alabama comes to terms with its past", "Victoria P. Street Dies at 77; A Figure in Scottsboro Case", "More work ahead in Ala for Scottsboro Boys pardons", "Alabama posthumously pardons three Scottsboro Boys", "Scottsboro Boys Exonerated, But Troubling Legacy Remains for Black Men", "Leadbelly Let It Shine on Me: The Scottsboro Boys Free Song Clips, ARTISTdirect Network", "Direct from Death Row The Scottsboro Boys", "Without Fear or Favor: Judge James Edwin Horton and the Trial of the 'Scottsville Boys, "'Rights Still Being Righted': Scottsboro Eighty Years Later", Scottsboro Trials article in the Encyclopedia of Alabama. her convicted On the date first set for their executions, the Scottsboro of the execution, many of the boys report nightmares or The humiliated white teenagers jumped or were forced off the train and reported to the city's sheriff that they had been attacked by a group of black teenagers. [69], Many of the whites in the courtroom likely resented Leibowitz as a Jew from New York hired by the Communists, and for his treatment of a southern white woman, even a low-class one, as a hostile witness. [55], Anderson criticized how the defendants were represented. [98] He denied being a "bought witness", repeating his testimony about armed blacks ordering the white teenagers off the train. The judge and prosecutor wanted to speed the nine trials to avoid violence, so the first trial took a day and a half, and the rest took place one right after the other, in just one day. Alabama Supreme Court, by a vote of 6-1, affirms the Prosecutors got the cases in front of a more sympathetic judge, and both Patterson and Norris were retried, convicted and sentenced to death in late 1933. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. He also shows the Supreme Court justices the jury rolls with forged names. "[66] Leibowitz later conceded that Price was "one of the toughest witnesses he ever cross examined. The Attorney General of Alabama, Thomas E. Knight, represented the State. [43], Judge Hawkins set the executions for July 10, 1931, the earliest date Alabama law allowed. against Deputy Sheriff Edgar Blalock. [67], Price insisted that she had spent the evening before the alleged rape at the home of Mrs. Callie Brochie in Chattanooga. Two men escaped, were later charged with other crimes and convicted, and sent back to prison. The Scottsboro Boys' First Trials and Appeals: From the Grotesque to the Victorious. [102], The prosecution called several white farmers who testified that they had seen the fight on the train and saw the girls "a-fixin' to get out", but they saw the defendants drag them back. He later instructed the jury in the next round of trials that no white woman would voluntarily have sex with a black man.[89]. His case went to the jury at nine that evening. For the third time a jurynow with one African-American memberreturned a guilty verdict. After escaping from prison in 1948, Patterson was picked up in Detroit by the FBI, but the Michigan governor refused Alabamas efforts to extradite him. Two white women also claimed they had been raped. Governor Graves denies all pardon applications. Price accused Eugene Williams of holding the knife to her throat, and said that all of the other teenagers had knives. What did Victoria Price spend time in the work house for, and how many times had she been married? to 75 years in prison. June 9: Andy Wright is released on parole and finds a job in New York. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes observed the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution clearly forbade the states from excluding citizens from juries due solely to their race. Charlie Weems was paroled in 1943 after having been held in prison for a total of 12 years in some of Alabama's worst institutions. She was not the first witness to be evasive, sarcastic and crude. Each young man was tried, convicted and sentenced in a matter of days. October: A denial of parole is also recommended for Norris, Weems, and Andy Wright. He denied seeing the white women before Paint Rock. In March of 1931, nine young African-American men were accused of raping two white women on a train. on the grounds that he was a juvenile under state law in September: Patterson is sentenced to six to fifteen years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. In 1931, nine young Black men, ages 13 to 21, were arrested and falsely accused of raping two white women aboard a train traveling through Scottsboro en route to Memphis, Tennessee. [citation needed], The pace of the trials was very fast before the standing-room-only, all-white audience. All but 13-year-old Roy Wright were convicted of rape and sentenced to death (the common sentence in Alabama at the time for black men convicted of raping white women), even though there was no medical evidence indicating that rape had taken place. "[83], In his closing, Leibowitz called Wright's argument an appeal to regional bigotry, claiming talk about Communists was just to "befuddle" the jury. The Court will not pursue the evidence any further. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like How many boys were in the Scottsboro trial?, Where did the trials take place?, What were the boys accused for? View scottsboro film questions.doc from AA 1"The Scottsboro Trials" PBS DocumentaryThe American Experience Comprehension Questions 1. The trial of Samuel Leibowitz was born in 1893, the son of Romanian Jewish immigrants who came to America to escape anti-Semitism. What did Haywood Patterson say caused the fight on the train? [110], As Time described it: "Twenty-six hours later came a resounding thump on the brown wooden jury room door. [citation needed], Judge Horton learned that the prisoners were in danger from locals. May 27: The United States Supreme Court decides to hear the case. "[101] Gilley testified to meeting Lester Carter and the women the evening before the alleged rapes and getting them coffee and sandwiches. April 9: 13-year-old Roy Wright is also tried. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signs legislation Chief Justice Anderson's previous dissent was quoted repeatedly in this decision. "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy", PBS.org, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (, "A wing of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the United States, devoted to the defense of people it perceived as victims of a class war. 18. When the jury returned its verdict from the first trial, the jury from the second trial was taken out of the courtroom. Why did the boys get a second set of trials? The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American teenagers and young men, ages 13 to 20, accused in Alabama of raping two white women in 1931. But from then on the defense was helpless. On July 24, 1937, Charlie Weems was convicted of rape and sentenced to 105 years in prison. The ILD saw African Americans in the deep South as an oppressed nation that needed liberation. [106], Knight declared in his closing that the prosecution was not avenging what the defendants had done to Price. Ory Dobbins repeated that he'd seen the women try to jump off the train, but Leibowitz showed photos of the positions of the parties that proved Dobbins could not have seen everything he claimed.
Feb 8 Zodiac Sign Compatibility,
Michael Griffiths Actor,
Articles H