Scottsboro Boys
Written by Cameron, Morgan, Steffen, Victor
How would you feel if a bunch of teenagers were wrongly convicted right in front of your eyes and then later killed? This essay will be explaining the background, the trials, and the aftermath of the case of the Scottsboro Boys and how it connects to the book To Kill a Mockingbird. After this, hopefully you will find this historical case more interesting and intriguing.
In 1931, nine teenagers were convicted of rape on a train going from Chattanooga to Memphis (Linder). While they were on the train a couple of the women were said to have been raped. After that, people blamed the boys because they were black. Even though that was very racist, this was a time of segregation (Carter 55). After this, all the boys went to trial for rape. The boys stated that they did not rape the women and stood by this claim. They said they were framed and that they never meant any harm to anyone or anything. The boys pleaded for innocence, but they were not heard. The jury and court were all white people from the south. This was a particularly racist city, as most southern cities were during this time (Hentoff 73). Even if the boys had evidence that supported them, they would have still been blamed for the crime.
The boys conviction was too easy. The Scottsboro boys had a horrible lawyer because they were just teenagers and they could not afford a good one. This lawyer was very bad at what he did and he was also drunk when the trial went on (Carter 72). All they could do is sit there and decline the fact that they raped the women. The trial mostly consisted of six of the boys saying they did not do anything. Three of the boys actually said that they did rape the women. A confession would be enough evidence to convict the three boys and put them in jail. This confession was not as it seemed though, because the three guilty boys were beaten until they were barely conscious and told to say they were guilty. It was unsure who did this because the boys would not say. The case went on for four trials, but the boys just could not win and it only became worse. After four bad trials and being in jail for the time, on January 1932 the boys were put to death. Being put to death for being falsely accused of rape is completely against human society said some of the people that defended them (Linder). Still, the jury reached a decision,that the Scottsboro boys would die and that would be that.
Time went on after their death, but soon something happened, people started actually thinking that the boys were telling the truth and that they were framed. People started researching on the topic and they also started investigating about this conflict. The women who were supposedly raped wwere interviewed. The women they interviewed described the people who raped them to not really look like the Scottsboro boys, but actually someone else (Linder). After much research, the people got a retrial on the topic. Even though the boys were already dead, they wanted to get things straight so that the real convict could be caught or at the least the boys would not be hated throughout the south. The trial went on for a long time and actually they found out that it really was Haywood Patterson and he was finally put to jail for 75 years (Linder). This shows how unfair the trial of the Scottsboro Boys went.
In the book To kill A Mockingbird, a girl was raped and then a black man was convicted of the crime. Most of the towns people accused him and pretty much bullied him as said in the book, until Atticus finally stepped up for him, "Atticus stepped back and looked up. 'They've gone,' he said. 'Get some sleep, Tom. They won't bother you any more'" (Lee 128). This shows how Atticus, a while man, tried to help Tom Robinson, a black man. At the end of the story Tom Robinson did not really do anything, he was just blamed for it, as said in the book. "The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer. Mr. Gilmer paused a long time to let it sink in" (124). Tom Robinson was eventually found guilty and was killed during a struggle with the police. In the story of the Scottboro boys, they were convicted of rape even though they did not do it. They were blamed for the crime then put in jail, and then finally killed. After their death much research was put into the case and then evidence showed that the boys were not the real convicts of the crime. Comparing the two stories they are pretty much the same in many ways. The boys and the man were both convicted and jailed even though the evidence did not support it.
Even though the boys were found not guilty of the case much later, they were already killed because they got framed before. For this reason they will always be remembered by the people of the south as the Scottsboro boys and only the Scottsboro boys. This case demonstrates the significance of segregation and racism during the 1930s and why the topic is important in To Kill a Mockingbird.
In 1931, nine teenagers were convicted of rape on a train going from Chattanooga to Memphis (Linder). While they were on the train a couple of the women were said to have been raped. After that, people blamed the boys because they were black. Even though that was very racist, this was a time of segregation (Carter 55). After this, all the boys went to trial for rape. The boys stated that they did not rape the women and stood by this claim. They said they were framed and that they never meant any harm to anyone or anything. The boys pleaded for innocence, but they were not heard. The jury and court were all white people from the south. This was a particularly racist city, as most southern cities were during this time (Hentoff 73). Even if the boys had evidence that supported them, they would have still been blamed for the crime.
The boys conviction was too easy. The Scottsboro boys had a horrible lawyer because they were just teenagers and they could not afford a good one. This lawyer was very bad at what he did and he was also drunk when the trial went on (Carter 72). All they could do is sit there and decline the fact that they raped the women. The trial mostly consisted of six of the boys saying they did not do anything. Three of the boys actually said that they did rape the women. A confession would be enough evidence to convict the three boys and put them in jail. This confession was not as it seemed though, because the three guilty boys were beaten until they were barely conscious and told to say they were guilty. It was unsure who did this because the boys would not say. The case went on for four trials, but the boys just could not win and it only became worse. After four bad trials and being in jail for the time, on January 1932 the boys were put to death. Being put to death for being falsely accused of rape is completely against human society said some of the people that defended them (Linder). Still, the jury reached a decision,that the Scottsboro boys would die and that would be that.
Time went on after their death, but soon something happened, people started actually thinking that the boys were telling the truth and that they were framed. People started researching on the topic and they also started investigating about this conflict. The women who were supposedly raped wwere interviewed. The women they interviewed described the people who raped them to not really look like the Scottsboro boys, but actually someone else (Linder). After much research, the people got a retrial on the topic. Even though the boys were already dead, they wanted to get things straight so that the real convict could be caught or at the least the boys would not be hated throughout the south. The trial went on for a long time and actually they found out that it really was Haywood Patterson and he was finally put to jail for 75 years (Linder). This shows how unfair the trial of the Scottsboro Boys went.
In the book To kill A Mockingbird, a girl was raped and then a black man was convicted of the crime. Most of the towns people accused him and pretty much bullied him as said in the book, until Atticus finally stepped up for him, "Atticus stepped back and looked up. 'They've gone,' he said. 'Get some sleep, Tom. They won't bother you any more'" (Lee 128). This shows how Atticus, a while man, tried to help Tom Robinson, a black man. At the end of the story Tom Robinson did not really do anything, he was just blamed for it, as said in the book. "The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. But the damage was done. Below us, nobody liked Tom Robinson's answer. Mr. Gilmer paused a long time to let it sink in" (124). Tom Robinson was eventually found guilty and was killed during a struggle with the police. In the story of the Scottboro boys, they were convicted of rape even though they did not do it. They were blamed for the crime then put in jail, and then finally killed. After their death much research was put into the case and then evidence showed that the boys were not the real convicts of the crime. Comparing the two stories they are pretty much the same in many ways. The boys and the man were both convicted and jailed even though the evidence did not support it.
Even though the boys were found not guilty of the case much later, they were already killed because they got framed before. For this reason they will always be remembered by the people of the south as the Scottsboro boys and only the Scottsboro boys. This case demonstrates the significance of segregation and racism during the 1930s and why the topic is important in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Works Cited
Carter, Dan T. Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969. Print.
Hentoff, Nat. The First Freedom: The Tumultuous History of Free Speech in America. New York: Delacorte, 1980. Print.
Linder, Douglas O. "Scottboro Boys." UMKC School of Law. Law Education. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.
Hentoff, Nat. The First Freedom: The Tumultuous History of Free Speech in America. New York: Delacorte, 1980. Print.
Linder, Douglas O. "Scottboro Boys." UMKC School of Law. Law Education. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.