Scottsboro Boys

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

On March 25, 1931, two dozen people were 'hoboing' on a freight train traveling between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee. The hoboes were an equal mix of blacks and whites. A group of whites gathered rocks and attempted to force all the black teenagers from the train, but were unsuccessful. The humiliated white teenagers jumped or were forced off the train and reported to a nearby train master that they had been attacked by a group of black teenage boys. Shortly thereafter, the police stopped and searched the train at Paint Rock, Alabama and arrested the black teenage boys. Two young white females were also taken to the jail, where they accused the African American teenage boys of rape. The case was first heard in Scottsboro, Alabama, in three rushed trials, in which the defendants received poor legal representation. All but 14-year-old Roy Wright were convicted of rape and sentenced to death (the common sentence in Alabama at the time for black men convicted of raping white women), even though there was no medical evidence indicating that rape had taken place. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed seven of the eight convictions and granted 13-year-old Eugene Williams a new trial because he was a minor. The cases were twice appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which led to landmark decisions on the conduct of trials. In Powell v. Alabama (1932), the Supreme Court ordered new trials. During the retrials, one alleged victim admitted to fabricating the rape story and asserted that none of the Scottsboro Boys touched either of the alleged victims. The jury still found the defendants guilty, but the judge set aside the verdict and granted a new trial. The judge was replaced and the case retried. For the third time, a jury—now with one African American member—returned a guilty verdict. The case was sent to the Supreme Court on appeal. It ruled that African Americans had to be included on juries and ordered the cases be retried. Charges were finally dropped for four of the nine defendants. The other five were convicted and received sentences ranging from 75 years to death, although the sentence was soon commuted to life imprisonment with parole.

Reader's Guide

The case of the Scottsboro Boys is widely considered a legal injustice, highlighted by the state's use of all-white juries. African Americans in Alabama had been disenfranchised since the Reconstruction era and thus were not allowed on juries because jurors were selected from voter rolls. The case has also been explored in many works of literature, music, theater, film and television. On November 21, 2013, Alabama's parole board voted to grant posthumous pardons to the three Scottsboro Boys who had not been pardoned or had their convictions overturned. The nine black teenagers were: Haywood Patterson (age 18), Clarence Norris (age 19), Charles 'Charlie' Weems (age 19), brothers James Andrew 'Andy' Wright (age 19) and Leroy R. 'Roy' Wright (age 14), Olen Montgomery (age 17), Ozie Powell (age 16), Willie Roberson (age 16), and Eugene Williams (age 13). Of the nine, only four knew each other prior to boarding. Two white females were also aboard: 21-year-old Victoria Price and 17-year-old Ruby Bates. A doctor was summoned to examine Price and Bates for signs of rape; none was found. A lynch mob gathered at the jail in Scottsboro, demanding the youths be surrendered to them. Sheriff Matt Wann stood in front of the jail and addressed the mob, saying he would kill the first person to come through the door. He walked through the mob and the crowd parted to let him through. He telephoned governor Benjamin M. Miller, who mobilized the Alabama Army National Guard to protect the jail. The prisoners were taken to court by 118 Alabama guardsmen armed with machine guns. For each trial, all-white juries were selected. The first trial took a day and a half, and the rest took place one right after the other, in just one day. The only attorney who volunteered was 69-year-old Milo Moody, who had not defended a case in decades. The judge persuaded Stephen Roddy, a Chattanooga, Tennessee real estate lawyer, to assist him. Roddy admitted he had not had time to prepare and was not familiar with Alabama law.

Did You Know?

• The nine black teenagers ranged in age from 13 to 19: Haywood Patterson (18), Clarence Norris (19), Charles Weems (19), James Andrew Wright (19), Leroy Wright (14), Olen Montgomery (17), Ozie Powell (16), Willie Roberson (16), and Eugene Williams (13).
• A doctor examined Victoria Price and Ruby Bates for signs of rape and found none.
• During the retrials, one alleged victim admitted to fabricating the rape story and said none of the Scottsboro Boys touched either of them.
• Sheriff Matt Wann faced down a lynch mob by walking through the crowd unarmed, saying he would kill the first person to come through the jail door.
• On November 21, 2013, Alabama's parole board voted to grant posthumous pardons to the three Scottsboro Boys who had not been pardoned or had their convictions overturned.