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Scottsboro

In: Historical Events

Submitted By gsaini576
Words 727
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Gurpreet Saini
Period 4 Scottsboro Boys Trials The ideology behind the American legal system is you are innocent until proven guilty. There have been many cases in history where this is not the case. One of the most well-known and pointless cases of 20th century America is the Scottsboro boys Trials. In 1932 nine African American boys ranging from the ages of 13-20 hopped onto a train headed to Memphis. They were pulled off and arrested after two white girls, Ruby bates and Victoria Price accused them rape. One of these two girls happened to have been a prostitute. The reasons why the Scottsboro boys were given an unfair trial were because they were black men living in the racist and segregated south. The evidence that was presented during the trials was insufficient and not all evidence was presented. The jury consisted of all white folks who were racist.
All the boys on the Scottsboro trial were black living in a country that largely discriminated to collared people. The 1930’s American south was the capital of segregation. This segregation put black people at a disadvantage to white folks. When they were in prison, the boys were being tormented and abused by the guards. Many cases similar to the Scottsboro still occur in the U.S due to racism. Since the boys were black they were easily to be accused for the rape of the two white women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Having to live in a society that historically discriminated against blacks, the race of those convicted in the Scottsboro case would lead to an unfair trial. On April 6th 1931 the boys walked into a court room full of white jurists who were essentially racist and a white judge. Because of the fact that the boys were black the jury ignored everything they had to say to explain the situation. The entire trial was one sided and everything that the boys said went in one ear and out the other.

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