[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. FBI arrests Patterson, but On cross-examination, Bridges testified detecting no movement in the spermatozoa found in either woman, suggesting intercourse had taken place sometime before. Black Americans in Alabama had been disenfranchised since the late 19th century and were therefore not allowed on juries, which were limited to voters. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Both Price and Bates are examined by doctors. How long did the second set of trials last? He was paroled in 1946 following his conviction for assault. Roy Wright 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. State June: Patterson is caught and arrested by the FBI in Detroit. their The court reversed the convictions for a second time on the basis that blacks had been excluded from the jury pool because of their race.[121]. Judge Callahan allowed it, although he would not allow testimony by Patterson stating that he had not seen the women before Paint Rock. [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. [17] The judge persuaded Stephen Roddy, a Chattanooga, Tennessee, real estate lawyer, to assist him. Her claim, however, is dismissed. (Credit: AP Photo) Outraged by the Supreme Court's interference, Alabama again put the boys on trial. [98] She said they raped her and Bates, afterward saying they would take them north or throw them in the river. right to In November 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Powell v. Alabama that the Scottsboro defendants had been denied the right to counsel, which violated their right to due process under the 14th Amendment. "[53] Again, the Court affirmed these convictions as well. Ozie Powell said that while he was not a participant, he had seen the fight with the white teenagers from his vantage point between a boxcar and a gondola car, where he had been hanging on. As news spread of the alleged rape (a highly inflammatory charge given the Jim Crow laws in the South), an angry white mob surrounded the jail, leading the local sheriff to call in the Alabama National Guard to prevent a lynching. "[9] The posse arrested all black passengers on the train for assault.[10]. are added On the date first set for their executions, the Scottsboro boys listen to the execution of Willie Stokes, the first of ten blacks to be executed at the prison over the next ten years. On July 22, 1937, Andrew Wright was convicted of rape and sentenced to 99 years. [14] He removed his belt and handed his gun to one of his deputies. He was sentenced to 20 years. Eugene Williams moved with family in St. Louis. How many boys did Alabama set free during the fourth trial? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, "something more" was needed. What you can do now is to make sure that it doesn't happen to some other woman." A group of white teenage boys saw 18-year-old Haywood Patterson on the train and attempted to push him off, claiming that it was "a white man's train". 16. Leibowitz objected that African-American jurors had been excluded from the jury pool. The first jury deliberated less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict and imposed the death sentence on both Weems and Norris. On cross-examination Knight confronted him with previous testimony from his Scottsboro trial that he had not touched the women, but that he had seen the other five defendants rape them. "[67] Her answers were evasive and derisive. Clarence Norris, one of nine Black men involved in the Scottsboro case of 15 years, walks through the main cell gate at Kilby Prison in Montgomery, Ala., Sept. 27, 1946, after receiving his parole after serving nine years of a life sentence. and more. of the execution, many of the boys report nightmares or Finally, he defended the women, "Instead of painting their faces they were brave enough to go to Chattanooga and look for honest work. Speaking of the decision to install the marker, he said, 'I think it will bring the races closer together, to understand each other better. Clarence Norris was the only defendant finally sentenced to death. Victoria Price's suit against NBC for its movie "Judge "[71], Leibowitz systematically dismantled each prosecution witness' story under cross-examination. He set the retrials for January 20, 1936. When the jury returned its verdict from the first trial, the jury from the second trial was taken out of the courtroom. What movement did the Scottsboro Trials re-spark? Price and Bates may have told the police that they were raped to divert police attention from themselves. Early in 1936, Patterson was convicted for a fourth time, but sentenced to 75 years in prison. [68], Price was not the first hardened witness [Leibowitz] had faced, and certainly not the most depraved. v. The Supreme Court overturned the Alabama verdicts, setting an important legal precedent for enforcing the right of Black Americans to adequate counsel, and remanded the cases to the lower courts. August: Patterson dies of cancer while serving time in prison. [50] Chamlee offered judge Hawkins affidavits to that effect, but the judge forbade him to read them out loud. He said he saw the white teenagers jump off the train. [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. He said, "Don't you know these defense witnesses are bought and paid for? The trials for all of the boys took almost 6 years. Thus far in the trial, Ruby Bates had been notably absent. [21][22] Local circuit judge Alfred E. Hawkins[23] found that the crowd was curious and not hostile. Leibowitz made many objections to Judge Callahan's charge to the jury. The case went to the United States Supreme Court on October 10, 1932, amidst tight security. When, after several hours of reading names, Commissioner Moody finally claimed several names to be of African-Americans,[95] Leibowitz got handwriting samples from all present. was raped. another man. Clarence Norris's death sentence is reduced to life in [124], Alabama Governor Bibb Graves instructed every solicitor and judge in the state, "Whether we like the decisions or not We must put Negroes in jury boxes. March 27: Patterson's second trial begins in Decatur, Ala before Judge James Horton. death [96] She testified that she had fallen while getting out of the gondola car, passed out, and came to seated in a store at Paint Rock. electric chair. is dismissed. "[56], Anderson noted that, as the punishment for rape ranged between ten years and death, some of the teenagers should have been found "less culpable than others", and therefore should have received lighter sentences. He was reported to have died in Atlanta in 1974. convicted, [26] The prosecution ended with testimony from three men who claimed the black youths fought the white youths, put them off the train, and "took charge" of the white girls. The case was first returned to the lower court and the judge allowed a change of venue, moving the retrials to Decatur, Alabama. Leibowitz questioned her until Judge Callahan stopped court for the day at 6:30. and Patterson The train is stopped in Paint Rock, Ala and nine African-American teens are arrested for assault. of the Ruby Bates, in a letter to a Earl Streetman, denies that Local attorney, Clarence Watts serves as co-counsel. [84], Attorney General Knight delivered his rebuttal, roaring that if the jury found Haywood not guilty, they ought to "put a garland of roses around his neck, give him a supper, and send him to New York City." The first two times that he did so, Leibowitz asked the court to have him alter his behavior. 30 days . . "[66] Leibowitz later conceded that Price was "one of the toughest witnesses he ever cross examined. As the second trial began, what happened to Ruby Bates?13. Each young man was tried, convicted and sentenced in a matter of days. The African-American men ranged in age from thirteen to nineteen. [32], After the outburst, the defense of Patterson moved for a mistrial, but Judge Hawkins denied the motion and testimony continued. [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. He was paroled and returned to prison after violating parole. 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. and the In total, the Scottsboro nine were found guilty in three separate trials. The Supreme Court suggests that lower courts review Patterson's case. July 24: The rape charges against Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Eugene Williams, and Roy Wright are dropped. But from then on the defense was helpless. He dies of cancer less than a year later. July 22 - 23: Charley Weems is convicted and sentenced to 75 years. transferred to Judge William Callahan's court. 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? June 28: In a defense motion for new trials, Leibowitz argues that qualified African-Americans were kept off jury rolls. . "[12], In the Jim Crow South, lynching of black males accused of raping or murdering whites was common; word quickly spread of the arrest and rape story. "[60], Leibowitz called the editor of the Scottsboro weekly newspaper, who testified that he'd never heard of a black juror in Decatur because "they all steal. An African American, Creed Conyer, was selected as the first black person since Reconstruction to sit on an Alabama grand jury. sleepless Both the police officer and Powell survive. He was found in 1976 and pardoned by Governor George Wallace. Leibowitz called John Sanford, an African-American of Scottsboro, who was educated, well-spoken, and respected. of dangerously high local tensions. Later, she worked in a New York state spinning factory until 1938; that year she returned to Huntsville. Pardon Board denies the pardon applications of Norris, The Court did not fault Moody and Roddy for lack of an effective defense, noting that both had told Judge Hawkins that they had not had time to prepare their cases. Who framed them? Alabama Governor Bibb Graves commuted Norris sentence to life imprisonment in 1938, and denied pardon applications by all five convicted defendants that same year. 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. During the trial, Dr. Bridges says that Price showed very little physical signs of rape. "[79], Just after the defense rested "with reservations", someone handed Leibowitz a note. trials. That June, the court granted the boys a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court. "[84] He ended with the Lord's Prayer and a challenge to either acquit or render the death sentencenothing in between. Andy Wright "[60], Leibowitz asserted his trust in the "God-fearing people of Decatur and Morgan County";[60] he made a pretrial motion to quash the indictment on the ground that blacks had been systematically excluded from the grand jury. Chief Justice Anderson's previous dissent was quoted repeatedly in this decision. The state dropped the rape charges as part of this plea bargain.[6]. Ruby Bates failed to mention that either she or Price were raped until she was cross-examined. The jury found the defendant guilty of rape and sentenced Patterson to death in the electric chair. Neither would he allow questions as to whether she'd had sexual intercourse with Carter or Gilley. [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. On July 24, 1937, the state of Alabama dropped all charges against Willie Roberson, Olen Montgomery, Eugene Williams, and Roy Wright.
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