The Case
During the time of the Great Depression, people, both African-American and white, illegally hitched rides on freight trains as a free travel source. On March 25, 1931 among those riders on the freight train were nine African-American boys between the ages of nineteen and thirteen. Most of these boys did not know each other but were later known as the Scottsboro boys. Although every rider aboard this freight train was riding illegally, a fight broke out between the whites and the blacks because the white claimed the train as a "white man's train". The blacks won the fight and threw a few white men over board who later telegraphed a sheriff to arrest the blacks once the train stopped at the next station.
When the train stopped at Paint Rock, Alabama 75 armed white men were waiting to arrest as many blacks as they could. Most escaped by running away but nine boys were caught and arrested; the Scottsboro nine. They were taken to Scottsboro, Alabama.
When the train stopped at Paint Rock, Alabama 75 armed white men were waiting to arrest as many blacks as they could. Most escaped by running away but nine boys were caught and arrested; the Scottsboro nine. They were taken to Scottsboro, Alabama.
"When the train arrived, it was immediately surrounded by a mob. There was nothing but white people with sticks, guns, [and] pitchforks. Folks were hollering, 'Let's take them niggers off of there and put them to a tree and hang'em' All of us thought for sure we would be lynched right there, with no questions asked." -Clarence Norris (one of the Scottsboro boys)
The sheriffs also came across two white women at that station who claimed to have been abused and raped by these nine boys. The victims were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. News of the incident were all over the newspapers the same evening. This caused an outraged mob to form outside the jail where the boys were held. They demanded for the sheriff to call the governor of Alabama, Benjamin Meeks Miller. To satisfy the mob the National Guard was called to protect the jail.
Between April 6th and April 9th, all the boys had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. The speedy trials, severity of the sentences, and the youth of the defendants alerted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the International Labor Defense (ILD). These organizations demanded another trial. They courted the defendants, their parents,and public opinion for the right to represent the boys in an appeal and raise money for their defense. The request for another trial was sent to the Alabama Supreme Court. During the long wait for an approval NAACP withdrew from the case. After this the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the boys were denied the right to a counsel, which violated the Fourteenth Amendment. They assigned the case to a lower court.
On April 6,1933, Ruby Bates attended Haywood Patterson's, one of the Scottsboro boys, and came forth to admit that she was never raped and explained that Victoria Price was with her the whole time that she was at the train station and was never raped either. Bates' testimony made no difference and the death penalty was sentenced once again. After this seven of the defendants were assigned to the Calahan's court and the youngest two, Roy Wright and Eugene Williams, were transferred to a Juvenile Court. By November, two boys, Patterson and Norris, were sentenced to death by a bias Judge Callahan.
On January 23, 1936, Patterson was found guilty and sentenced to 75 years in prison. This enraged Ozie Powell, the oldest of the boys, causing him to slash Deputy Edgar Blalock's throat. Sheriff Jay Sandlin saw this and immediately shot Powell in the head. Both Blalock and Powell survive the chaotic scene. Ozie Powell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for assaulting Blalock, but the rape charges were dropped.
By July 24, 1937, five of the boys were sentenced to 75 years in prison. The other four were dropped of rape charges. However, by 1950 all the boys who were sentenced to prison were released on parole except for Haywood Patterson, who had escaped. He was later found and arrested by the FBI at a barroom brawl. Patterson was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six to fifteen years in prison, but died a year later.
By 1889, all of the Scottsboro Boys had died.
By July 24, 1937, five of the boys were sentenced to 75 years in prison. The other four were dropped of rape charges. However, by 1950 all the boys who were sentenced to prison were released on parole except for Haywood Patterson, who had escaped. He was later found and arrested by the FBI at a barroom brawl. Patterson was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six to fifteen years in prison, but died a year later.
By 1889, all of the Scottsboro Boys had died.