https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y Made with charisma en-us 2016-11-29 13:53:06 UTC 2024-10-15 09:09:13 UTC hello@padlet.com pettit3 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682006    James Montgomery's case is not just one of a failed judicial system, but also one of the threat of organized violence. Despite the fact Mamie Snow couldn't identify Montgomery as her assailant the day after she pointed him out in a lineup, Montgomery was still sent to prison, without using witnesses or arguing for his freedom. From January 9, 1924 until August 10, 1949, Montgomery sat in a Chicago prison because he was threatened to not provide the evidence needed for his acquittal. It would be expected that, if any other man was in this position, he would be able to bring witnesses and would have a plan for his case, regardless of his guilt or innocence. It took twenty-six years for the red flags to go up; it took Snow's death and autopsy to make people question how legitimate the conviction was.
   We should also pay attention to what Montgomery's life was like before he was arrested. He owned property, was a loving husband, served in World War II, and had no previous record. This was an upstanding man, which may have played into the case. Someone like this, whether in the North or the South, would have some level of power, making him a target for racist whites and the organizations they were a part of.
   Another issue also ties gender into the situation. While James Montgomery did not provide evidence against the accusation, no one examined Mamie Snow for the physical evidence. If they had, Montgomery wouldn't have had to wait in prison for twenty-six years. Nowadays, hospitals must complete rape kits and gather evidence in case the victim wishes to press charges. Snow made claims without that physical evidence. While rape is a serious accusation and should be taken as such, the only evidence highlighted in the article was Snow's testimony.
   In addition to the lack of physical evidence (i.e. a rape kit or examination provided from a physician), we should also take note of the fact that Miss Snow is a single, sixty-two-year-old white woman (and therefore a virgin, since society would assume that a single woman at any age would be a virgin) and claimed that a black man raped her. This case used the white woman/black man relationship to create sympathy for Snow (a pure white woman whose virtue was attacked) and use the internal prejudices against Montgomery (a black brute with evil, sexual predation). This made it easier for the prosecution to win. This also continued the “good-for-nothing” stereotype that comes with being a black man, no matter what he had
   Montgomery did not enter the court without a plan. The threat of violence played a large part in the trial. With the State Attorney in the KKK, there was a chance that protecting Montgomery's freedom would cost him his safety or even his life, so he did not fight the charges with witnesses. At least behind bars the KKK couldn't reach him. As a result, he lost twenty-six years of his life for a crime he never committed.
   With all of this in mind, Judge Igoe had plenty of reason to believe that James Montgomery should be freed and that something dark went on during the original trial.

]]> 2016-11-29 22:27:05 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682006 pettit3 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682039 2016-11-29 22:27:16 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682039 pettit3 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682075 2016-11-29 22:27:31 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682075 pettit3 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682110 2016-11-29 22:27:51 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140682110 pettit3 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140696816 This short newspaper article came out about seven months after Crime Non-Existent, Trial ‘Sham’, Court Frees Negro After 26 Years. The same judge that was assigned to the rape case, Judge Igoe, is assigned to this case, involving parole and habeas corpus. Judge Igoe was not the original judge assigned to this case; Judge William J. Campbell reassigned the case to him. The reader should notice the outcome of this case and its parallel to the rape case. This Judge, in both cases, lets the man who was prosecuted go.  Ricca is free to go out of jail and so is Mr. Montgomery. This could show how this Judge was more sympathetic towards Negroes, even though he himself was white. These results could also show the shifting attitudes in this time period. Even though a majority of people were still prejudice towards African Americans, some people, even political figures, were fighting for equal rights for blacks, either by participating in protests with them or making judicial decisions in their favor. ]]> 2016-11-30 01:15:41 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/140696816 dugan4 https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/141219136 This article covers the release of a wrongfully convicted, African American male, Johnathan Fleming of New York. 27 at the time of the conviction he had spent nearly 2 decades in jail for a crime he was innocent of. On August 15, 1989, Darryl Rush was gunned down outside the housing projects in Brooklyn, Fleming was later accused and convicted of committing this crime. 25 years later his attorney Taylor Koss questions how the investigators withheld evidence that would have prevented Johnathan from going to jail. The differing facts between the cases are that in the case of James Montgomery the States Attorney was ruling to prevent retaliation from the KKK whereas in Johnathan Flemings case the city police and district attorney denied having this evidence and therefore it was never presented to the jury. With Flemings new defense team headed by Koss, they were able to uncover this record and get the conviction overturned. Similar to Montgomery's case where Judge Igoe found his conviction "a sham" that was upheld with no real evidence. These cases show that even though African American's have gained certain rights, the dominate society can still take these away, with very little reason. These two cases being to show the injustices we have in our justice system. These cases, between the convictions, have a 65-year difference, this can only push forward the point that the black community still has less power than the predominately white community. ]]> 2016-12-01 18:44:58 UTC https://padlet.com/dugan4/7ugx4uvn7r7y/wish/141219136