Scottsboro Boys In The 1930's
The ‘Scottsboro Boys’ is a reference to one of the most famous series of trials in 1930’s. The story surrounding the Scottsboro cases involves nine young African American boys and their alleged gang rape of two white women: Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. This highly questionable rape accusation would spark unprecedented amounts of trials, convictions, reversals, and retrials. Because of these trials, celebrities were made from anonymities, careers were launched and ended, lives were wasted, heroes were created, and America’s political left was divided. During the great depression of 1929-1939, hopping on trains to find work, also known as ‘hoboing’ was a common pastime. Around two dozen mainly male young whites and blacks, were riding
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Hawkins. The two attorneys who represented the Scottsboro boys in the trial were Stephen Roddy, and Milo Moody. Both defense attorneys were incompetent and simply unprepared to defend the Scottsboro boys against the rape accusations made upon them. Stephen Roddy was an unpaid and ill-prepared real estate attorney who on the first day of the trial was “so stewed he could barely walk straight” (Linder). Milo Moody on the other hand, was a local seventy-year-old defense attorney who was not only losing his memory, but he also hadn’t tried a case for many years. The incompetence of the defense attorneys was evident throughout the trial in many instances. For example, both defense attorneys decided that all nine of the defendants will be tried together at the same time, despite the inevitable prejudice that such a trial would cause for the defendants, especially Roy Wright who was thirteen years old and the youngest of all the Scottsboro boys. Moody and Roddy also made a feeble three-minute cross examination on Victoria Price, and didn’t even cross examine doctors R.R Bridges and John Lynch, who were the doctors that evaluated the two women after they claimed that they have been raped ("Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign”). Roddy and Moody also failed to ask Ruby Bates about contradictions and inconsistencies with her testimony in comparison to the testimony that …show more content…
However, they did not because a rape conviction was a serious political charge in the south and they were concerned that if any of the Scottsboro boys were in fact guilty, it would damage the NAACP’s reputation and make them a less effective organization ("Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign”). The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) actually rushed to make the Scottsboro case their own because they saw it as an opportunity to recruit both northern liberals, and southern African Americans. The International Labor Defense was the Communist Party’s legal arm and claimed that the case of the Scottsboro boys was a “Murderous Frame-up” (Linder). In the meantime, the NAACP came to the slow realization that the Scottsboro boys were actually innocent, and they made attempts to compete with the Communist party to make the case their own, however, they were too late because the CPUSA had claimed the case and the mothers of Haywood Patterson and Ozie Powell had placed their trust in them to bring freedom to the Scottsboro
Hawkins. The two attorneys who represented the Scottsboro boys in the trial were Stephen Roddy, and Milo Moody. Both defense attorneys were incompetent and simply unprepared to defend the Scottsboro boys against the rape accusations made upon them. Stephen Roddy was an unpaid and ill-prepared real estate attorney who on the first day of the trial was “so stewed he could barely walk straight” (Linder). Milo Moody on the other hand, was a local seventy-year-old defense attorney who was not only losing his memory, but he also hadn’t tried a case for many years. The incompetence of the defense attorneys was evident throughout the trial in many instances. For example, both defense attorneys decided that all nine of the defendants will be tried together at the same time, despite the inevitable prejudice that such a trial would cause for the defendants, especially Roy Wright who was thirteen years old and the youngest of all the Scottsboro boys. Moody and Roddy also made a feeble three-minute cross examination on Victoria Price, and didn’t even cross examine doctors R.R Bridges and John Lynch, who were the doctors that evaluated the two women after they claimed that they have been raped ("Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign”). Roddy and Moody also failed to ask Ruby Bates about contradictions and inconsistencies with her testimony in comparison to the testimony that …show more content…
However, they did not because a rape conviction was a serious political charge in the south and they were concerned that if any of the Scottsboro boys were in fact guilty, it would damage the NAACP’s reputation and make them a less effective organization ("Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign”). The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) actually rushed to make the Scottsboro case their own because they saw it as an opportunity to recruit both northern liberals, and southern African Americans. The International Labor Defense was the Communist Party’s legal arm and claimed that the case of the Scottsboro boys was a “Murderous Frame-up” (Linder). In the meantime, the NAACP came to the slow realization that the Scottsboro boys were actually innocent, and they made attempts to compete with the Communist party to make the case their own, however, they were too late because the CPUSA had claimed the case and the mothers of Haywood Patterson and Ozie Powell had placed their trust in them to bring freedom to the Scottsboro