This trial resulted in seven of the eight boys being convicted again with one boy being let off because he was younger. This trial, Powell v. Alabama, shaped the way juries are selected since the Scottsboro Boys had originally been given a biased jury. The case was then sent back down to lower courts in Alabama to go on trial again. This time around one of the alleged rape victims admitted to lying about the rape; she said that the boys had not touched either of the white girls. Even with this confession seven of the seven boys on trial were found guilty.
This illustrates that the judicial system was set up in an unfair way, and did not allow black people equal access to a fair trial. It is also notable how Wells expresses her anger by her use of language, while also exposing the outlawry which had emerged during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Because of this extremely brutal type of violence, African Americans continued to live in fear throughout the
Topic: Scottsboro Trials Sources: Remembering Scottsboro: The legacy of an infamous trial, The Trials of the Scottsboro boys, and Scottsboro and its legacy: The cases that challenged american legal and social justice. Thesis: The Scottsboro Trials were an important piece of history because it was a huge stepping stone of the civil rights movement and it showed the racial inequality in America which was then taken to the supreme court. (support statement) No crime in American history, produced as many trials, convictions, reversals and retrials as did the alleged gang rape of two white girls by nine black teenagers. (Supported Statement 2)
First, the victim was taken to a hospital for a rape examination and her clothing and bedspread were collected as evidence. The laboratory found sperm evidence in the rape kit, on the victim’s jumpsuit, and on a blanket, which matched Good’s blood type and one-third of the caucasian male population (Haynes: Circuit judge). This shows that there was evidence but not enough evidence to say it was Donald Good. Next, Good was convicted on the spot. Good spent more than seven years in jail for rape and murder has been exonerated because of a tainted testimony from a former State Police chemist.
In the 30’s, the complications that came along with the Great Depression affected the public severely. In 1929, a stock market crash changed the country remarkably. Poverty and unemployment were widespread in the United States. Factors that led up to the Great Depression include buying on credit, buying on margin, ____________ The Great Depression was catastrophic for everyone but as usual, the African-American population had it harder. During the Great Depression, most African-Americans were working on farms owned by white landowners.
They lose first instance, In July 1963, Ernesto Miranda was finally sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping and rape of Lois Ann Jamesonthe. In every state in America, there is at last one higher court to which a person can appeal his conviction. In Arizona, in 1963, there was only one level of appeal, the Arizona Supreme Court, Moore appeal the case , Alvin Moore pointed out that police had not observed proper procedure in their arrest and interrogation of Miranda. Moore was convinced that the police had used Miranda’s ignorance of his rights to their advantage and that they had manipulated him into witnessing against himself ,Moore and Miranda also lose this court ,because One of the key procedures of an appellate court is to review earlier court cases to see how those cases might relate to the case under review .this cases was : Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), they involved some similar
Have you ever had any emotional or physical struggles in your life that sometimes made you feel as if though you were caged and unable to achieve your goal? To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a historical fiction novel told in the eyes of a young girl named Scout as her father, Atticus Finch , a lawyer in the 1950’s in Alabama, is burdened with the task of defending a black man, Tom Robinson, of harming a white girl, Mayella Ewell. “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou is a poem that compares and contrasts a free bird to a caged bird. “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem that explores a caged bird that was once free, and how it is struggling to be free but hasn’t given up his hopes. Harper Lee’s characters Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch,
Abby Borden, killed first, was struck with an axe or hatchet-like object 19 times, and Andrew Borden was struck 10 or 11 times. The first blow would have been enough to kill both victims. The main suspect was Andrew 's youngest daughter Lizzie. During questioning Lizzie gave confusing or contradicting answers as to her alibi. However, she had been given doses of morphine to help calm her nerves after the murders of her father and his wife.
In to kill a mockingbird the Maycomb trial was practically a “gala occasion” (pg 173) The scottsboro trial got international recognition. Tom Robinson’s case was only known to his small town. Harper Lee definitely uses facts about the trial when she says that when they announced the verdicts of the guilty, people ran out. Another instance is when she used the example of a group of people trying to get to the boys so that they could harm them.
Is Mayella Ewell Really A Victim in To Kill A Mockingbird? In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the main conflict of this book is a court case that deals with rape. The main to think about this book is that the book takes during the great depression, as well as segregation. The main reason why I brought this up is because, the main court case deals with an innocent black man being accused of rape by a white family and at the time that this story takes place a white man always wins when it comes to going against a black in court. The girl who was so called rape was Ms. Mayella Ewell, Mayella is the one who accused this black man, known as Tom Robinson, of raping her.
Meili was a 28 year old investment banker at the time of the attack. The 5 men arrested for the attack spent between 6 and 12 years in prison for a crime they did not commit. This event could have influenced Harper Lee because in the book it is a white lawyer defending a black man for rape charges and the same kind of thing happened in real life with the central park five. The five men who were tried in court sued the city of New York in 2003 for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress.
First, starting off with the biggest issue: racism. The story of To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the early 1930 's, the years of the Great Depression and unemployment was spreading rapidly. Racism was extremely strong, especially in the south (which this story takes place). Being African-American at this time was horrible. They had the most effect from the Great Depression having to take on even more jobs and work even harder.
However, it wasn’t until 1995 when DNA showed that Ronald Cotton was innocent. According to the Innocence Project, Ronald Cotton spent 10 years in prison before being exonerated. The identification of criminals correctly and consistently
6/24, Chapter One: As the book begins, the readers are introduced to Scout, and her knowledge of Maycomb. I noticed how Scout’s narration sounded; she is telling the story as an adult but from a five year old’s point of view during the book, but her narrative included complex words such as “imprudent” (5) and “domiciled” (10), which is unlike what a child would say. Harper Lee uses the unique narration so that Scout would be able to provide background and context to Maycomb, but also so that readers would be able to see how Scout reacted and felt about the events in the book, and how it impacted her life growing up. Scout also used description and imagery as she told the story, which I found intriguing, since children don’t usually care for description and see things simplistically.
“The innocence of children is what makes them stand out, as a shining example to the rest of mankind” - Kurt Chambers. Likewise, In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, the narrator Jean Louise Finch, formerly known as “Scout’’ narrates her childhood experiences in an innocent kid's perspective. She begins retelling the story from the age of five and as a result the narrative voice used in the story is very naive. As Scout sees the injustices in her community occur, she uses the limited amount of knowledge she has of the world, her life experiences and her father's teachings/morals to fill in the blanks and try to understand the events that are taking place. It is evident that Scout is at too young of an age to fully comprehend racism and it’s impact on society.