Scottsboro Trials by Holden Meilman https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0 en-us 2021-03-04 16:25:45 UTC 2025-10-25 11:16:17 UTC hello@padlet.com April 1931 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276884620
  • First Trial
    • An all-white jury is assembled for the trials
    • Judge Hawkins declares a mistrial and sentences eight of the Boys to death by electric chair
    • the youngest, 13-year-old Leroy Wright, ended in a hung jury. He would remain in prison awaiting the final verdict on his co-defendants
    • Unfair trial
      • Newspapers had already claimed they were guilty prior to trial
      • First trial verdict was announced and verdict heard from second trial
      • Biased jury
      • Only witnesses for defense were themselves
      • Tried in groups of two rather than individually
      • Asked no questions and cross examination of other witnesses
      • No closing argument by defense
      • Some kids : Eugene Williams age 13 was tried as an adult

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 16:42:50 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276884620     January-March 1932 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276891319
  • First appeals
    • The Alabama Supreme Court upholds seven of the eight convictions
  • Lawyer used arguments:
    • Prior trial had no black jurors
    • Genetic info of semen and medical examination
    • Questioning things that had changed in Price’s claims 
      • Proved price a liar
      • Used friend Bates who decided to own up “to frame up a story"

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 16:47:22 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276891319     hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276933176 The International Labor Defense (the legal wing of the American Communist Party) took on the case, seeing its potential to galvanize public opinion against racism
    hired famous criminal defense attorney-- Samuel Liebowitz]]>     2021-03-06 17:15:21 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276933176     November 1932 - Powell v. Alabama hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276933874 U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Scottsboro defendants had been denied the right to counsel, which violated their right to due process under the 14th Amendment
    • overturned the Alabama verdicts and remanded the cases to the lower courts
    • sets an important legal precedent for enforcing the right of African Americans to adequate counsel
    ]]>     2021-03-06 17:15:46 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276933874     January-April, 1933 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276935799
  • Second Trial
    • Samuel Liebowitz is retained by International Labor Defense to serve as attorney for the Boys’ appeals
    • Haywood Patterson and Clarence Norris are retried and found guilty again. They are sentenced to death

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:17:06 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276935799     January 1935 - Norris v. Alabama hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276937394
  • Supreme court overturns guilty verdict and rules that the exclusion of blacks on Jackson Country juries denied a fair trial to the defendants Suggests that the lower courts review Patterson’s case
    • Helps integrate juries across the nation

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:18:15 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276937394     April-May, 1933 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276941682
  • Public Outcry
    • Seven of the trials are postponed due to public hostility towards the accused
    • Thousands of activists march on Washington, DC to protest the trials in support of the defendants
    • The ILD spearheads a national campaign to free the boys and letters stream in protesting the verdicts

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:20:45 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276941682     hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276946005 NAACP and other civil rights organizations join the ILD that year to form the Scottsboro defence committee which reorganized the defense effort for the next set of retrials]]> 2021-03-06 17:23:27 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276946005 January 23, 1936 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276947163
  • Patterson is convicted a fourth time and sentenced to 75 years in prison
  • First time a black man convicted in the US of raping a white woman was not sentenced to death

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:24:21 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276947163     January 24, 1936 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276948759
  • Ozie Powell attacks two police officers with a pocket knife after being threatened
  • One of the officers shoots Powell in the head
  • Both officers survive, but Powell suffers permanent brain damage
    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:25:31 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276948759     1937 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276949496 Ruby Bates (one of the women who accused the boys of rape) tours with the International Labor Defense, apologizing for her role in the Boys’ convictions and advocating for their freedom]]> 2021-03-06 17:26:05 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276949496 July, 1937 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276950346
  • Charges dropped
    • Rape charges against Powell are dropped as part of a plea bargain, and he is sentenced to 20 years for assaulting the deputy who shot him
    • After four years in prison, all charges are dropped against Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Roy Wright, and Eugene Williams

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:26:41 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276950346     1940-1944 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276954533
  • Charlie Weems, Clarence Norris, and Andy Wright are paroled
  • Norris and Wright later return to prison after violating their parole

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:29:29 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276954533     1947-1952 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276955041
  • Haywood Patterson escapes from prison
  • Patterson publishes his book The Scottsboro Boy
  • Patterson is arrested by the FBI for escaping prison, but Michigan’s governor denies extradition
  • Patterson is convicted of manslaughter after his involvement in the death of another man in a bar fight
  • Patterson dies of cancer in prison

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:29:52 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276955041     April 9, 2013 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276955584
  • Exoneration
    • Over 82 years after they were wrongfully accused, the Scottsboro Boys are officially granted a pardon by the Governor of Alabama

    • ]]>     2021-03-06 17:30:15 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276955584     Effects hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276961340 Made supreme court realize seating of black jurors was necessary 

    The case and rulings of the SC helped fuel the rise of the civil rights movement later in the 20th century
    ]]>     2021-03-06 17:34:03 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1276961340     Olen Montgomery-- 17 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277259710 - Traveling to Memphis looking for a job to support his family and buy him glasses to help his one blind eye]]> 2021-03-06 21:22:55 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277259710 Haywood Patterson-- 18 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277267415 - Worked as a sharecropper, but then started working as a steel worker
    - On the train when he was going to a new job]]>     2021-03-06 21:29:48 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277267415     Clarence Norris--19 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277268304 - Worked as a sharecropper, but left his family to find work
    - Was on the train on his way to visit his Aunt]]>     2021-03-06 21:30:38 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277268304     Ozzie Powell-- 15 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277270132 - Did not know how to read and write, so was forced to fend for himself
    - He left home at age 14 searching for work, which is when he was arrested]]>     2021-03-06 21:32:25 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277270132     Willie Roberson--- 15 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277271551 - Raised by his Grandmother and worked at a hotel
    - He wanted to find new work and was arrested on the train]]>     2021-03-06 21:33:44 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277271551     Charles Weems-- 19 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277272704 - He was never able to attend school, he had to support his whole family because his Father was ill and Mother was no longer alive
    - He went on the train to visit family when he was arrested]]>     2021-03-06 21:34:54 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277272704     Eugene Williams-- 13 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277274083 - Worked -- was a dishwasher at a Cafe
    - He hopped the train coming home from work ]]>     2021-03-06 21:36:15 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277274083     Andy Wright-- 19 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277275078 - Brother of Roy
    - Both were looking for work to support their single Mother
    - They got on the train to get a government job hauling logs]]>     2021-03-06 21:37:16 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277275078     Roy Wright-- 12 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277276365 - Youngest of the Scottsboro Boys
    - His time on the train was his first time away from home]]>     2021-03-06 21:38:23 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277276365     Who were the Scottsboro Boys? https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277277275 2021-03-06 21:39:17 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277277275 Who accused them of rape? https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277279233 Victoria Price-- left
    Ruby Bates-- right 

    Taking the train illegally with their boyfriends. This violates the Mann Act which criminalizes those who cross state lines with "immoral purposes" ]]>     2021-03-06 21:41:04 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1277279233     Southern Media https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285434718 The south celebrated the trial as a victory of legal due process
    • In addition to the falsehoods that were spread about the nature of the Scottsboro Trials, prejudice and racism was extremely prevalent surrounding media coverage of the trials in the south
    ]]>     2021-03-09 02:44:08 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285434718     Prevalence of the ILD https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285478778 The ILD became prevalent through its work defending trade-union activists and working-class immigrants
    • The strategy provided by the ILD was to provide legal protection while generating a media campaign to sway the public opinion
    ]]>     2021-03-09 03:01:34 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285478778     Nation-Wide Movement https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285480466 The movement for the Scottsboro Boys became widespread
    • In November 1932, a group of five thousand black workers protested at the Jefferson County courthouse to demand jobs, relief, and freedom for the Scottsboro Boys Additionally, the Alabama Share Croppers Union sought for the Scottsboro Boys’ freedom as one of their demands

    Although the decision was not ultimately overturned for the Scottsboro Boys, their case evoked a nation-wide response
    • The national media, including the Universal Press and Associated Press, had correspondents who were present at the Decatur courthouse. They reported angry crowds who were held off by National Guardsmen
    • It was clear that the jurors had already had made up their minds long before trial proceedings
    • The New York Herald Tribune: “National opinion everywhere will accept this outcome as proof of the impossibility of securing a really just verdict in Alabama”
    ]]>     2021-03-09 03:02:15 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285480466     American Entertainment Media Coverage https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285482004 Not only was the movement spread through national news media, but also through American music media
    • In the northern cities, protests, rallies, and demonstration took place in places of worship, parks, schools, and city streets 
    • Duke Ellington arranged and performed concerts for the benefit of the Scottsboro defense
    • Langston Hughes wrote a multitude of plays and poems which dramatized the boys’ hardship and suffering
    • The main city for protesting was Harlem: over 3,000 supporters waited for Leibowitz's arrival to stand in solidarity with his efforts
    ]]>     2021-03-09 03:02:53 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285482004     Media Coverage https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285505519 How was the trial portrayed in the media throughout the country?]]> 2021-03-09 03:13:02 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1285505519 The Lawyer Who Changed the fate of the Trial: Sam Liebowitz jsilk22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298666739 2021-03-11 15:47:40 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298666739 March 25, 1931 hmeilman22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298686326 Scottsboro Boys arrested
    • Nine black teenagers are arrested after a fight with a group of white teenagers on a train to Memphis
    • The black boys are accused of rape by Ruby Bates and Victoria Price
    • Girls confirmed six raped them but all nine were then accused of it
      • Created accusation because she violated the Mann Act
        • Criminalized those who crossed state lines with “immoral purposes”
    • Girls wanted to get back at the guys who forced her boyfriend off the train
    • Allegedly occurred on a freight train railroads run from Chattanooga to Memphis
      • Common activity to jump rail cars and ride freights
    ]]>     2021-03-11 15:51:00 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298686326     Discussion Questions: jsilk22 https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298705128 1. Why do you think the boys were convicted without much evidence and why did it take so long for them to be exonerated? Why was Victoria Price's testimony accepted without evidence?

    2. Would something of this magnitude occur in 2021? Why or why not?

    3. How do you think the heavy media coverage of the case may have influenced the verdict?]]>     2021-03-11 15:54:12 UTC https://padlet.com/hmeilman22/x9nckd7db2x2ehx0/wish/1298705128