In 1931, the arrest of all nine Scottsboro boys – Haywood Patterson, Charles Weems, Clarence Norris, Andy Wright, Ozzie Powell, Olen Montgomery, Eugene Williams, Willie Roberson, and Roy Wright – occurred due to their involvement in a fight with white boys on a train. The charges against them also include allegations of rape made by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. On April 6, 1931, the trial begins. All the boys except Roy Wright undergo trial and are convicted while receiving death sentences. However, Roy Wright’s trial ends inconclusively with a mistrial.
Later, the NAACP and International Labor Defense stepped in to represent the boys, despite the lack of evidence indicating their involvement in the crimes. Despite Ruby Bates confessing that she was not raped, the trial proceeded and the punishment or convictions were enforced. Rather than following the modern court principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” it appears that the boys were deemed guilty regardless of their innocence.
The Scottsboro boys, including Haywood Patterson, Charles Weems, Clarence Norris, Andy Wright, Ozzie Powell, Olen Montgomery, Eugene Williams, Willie Roberson, and Roy Wright experienced institutional discrimination as African American boys accused of crimes against white girls. This discrimination was especially harsh during a period when such offenses were treated more severely if the individuals involved were of different races. Patterson, who was born in Georgia and later relocated to Chattanooga at the age of eighteen.
Weems, who was from Atlanta, was the oldest of the Scottsboro boys at age nineteen. He had a clean prison record and was paroled in 1943. Norris, also from Atlanta, was eighteen when he was arrested. Unlike Weems, he experienced difficulties in prison, complaining about lack of food and longing for the outside world he felt excluded from. Andy Wright, the older brother of fellow Scottsboro boy Roy Wright, was nineteen years old at the time. Roy himself was twelve or thirteen, making Andy the youngest among the Scottsboro boys.
At the time of their arrest, Powell, a sixteen-year-old, had no prior acquaintance with the other boys. Even though he witnessed the altercation, it is clear that he was not implicated. Similarly, Montgomery, a seventeen-year-old from Monroe Georgia, was apprehended alongside the other boys despite having no involvement in the attack. Williams, who was only thirteen years old and a trusted friend of the Wright brothers when he was taken into custody. As for Roberson, his age—seventeen—and his syphilis condition cast doubt on his participation in any of the assaults.
The action takes place on the Chattanooga to Memphis Freight train. It involves a fight between the Scottsboro boys and the white boys, as well as the alleged rape of Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Everything starts in car #16, where the fight erupts. According to Price and Bates, they were raped in the same car. However, there are discrepancies in the girls’ story and their actual locations on the train. Notably, belongings belonging to Price were discovered in car #12, which is also where the girls were spotted by the posse in Paint Rock.
According to the map provided, it is illogical to suggest that the Scottsboro boys could have been in car 16 at the time of the alleged rape, as they were seen all over the train. Their testimony reveals that they only encountered the girls when they reached Paint Rock. The events unfolded as follows in different cities: Chattanooga witnessed Victoria and Ruby boarding the train, while in Stevenson, a confrontation erupted between the white boys and the Scottsboro boys. Finally, at Paint Rock, the train came to a halt and the Scottsboro boys were apprehended for their alleged involvement in the assault and rape.
Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, lower class white women employed at cotton mills, alleged that the Scottsboro Boys had collectively raped them, leading to their arrest. The court was more inclined to believe their claims due to their white racial identity. However, had they accused white boys instead, their testimony might not have been deemed credible due to their low socioeconomic status. Eventually, Ruby Bates retracted her accusation and actively joined the fight for the Boys’ liberation. Conversely, Victoria Price did not retract her claim, although her testimony lacked credibility.
She came up with multiple excuses, such as a poor memory or feigning ignorance, in order to avoid certain questions asked of her. Given her behavior during the trial and her location on the train, it becomes difficult to believe that she was indeed raped. Additionally, one of the witnesses to this rape incident was Orville Gilley, one of the white boys involved in the fight, who also had a sexual relationship with Victoria. This undermines his credibility as a witness. The judges presiding over the Scottsboro boys’ cases were William Callahan and James Horton. Callahan was known for his strictness and desire for a speedy trial.
He had no faith in the boys’ innocence; he frequently interrupted the defense’s questioning and prevented the prosecution from asking about Victoria Price’s reputation. Patterson remarked that Callahan was eager to see them executed. In contrast, James Horton, the other judge, was seen as a hero during the trial. He remained impartial, committed to fair treatment and a just trial for everyone.
Samuel Leibowitz, the defense attorney in the case, was tasked with defending the Scottsboro Boys by the International Labor Defense. Together with Joseph Brodsky, the chief attorney for the International Labor Defense, they served as co-counsels. Despite his efforts, Leibowitz faced significant animosity in Decatur and even received death threats following his cross-examination of Victoria Price. On the other side, Thomas E. Knight, Jr. acted as the prosecutor, often perceived as the antagonist due to his aggressive demeanor and frequent raising of his voice during the trial. Personally, I had limited knowledge of the Scottsboro boys’ case, and this experience proved to be a revealing revelation for me.
It is noteworthy that individuals can face punishment for crimes they did not commit solely based on accusations made by white people. I consider it important that the Scottsboro boys were accused by lower-class white females. In my perspective, if these girls had accused white boys of a comparable crime, their allegations would not have been treated as seriously because of their socioeconomic status. However, since the boys being accused were black and the accusers were white, it was simpler to unjustly punish them due to their racial background.
