Comparing and Contrasting the Trials of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Boys
Racism and prejudiced views, although they still exist today, used to have huge negative impacts on the way people used to live back in the 1930’s. The Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal.” Although that was said and implied, the right was still robbed from others because of the color of their skin. The novel written by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird perfectly portrays this in a court case set in the 1930’s where a man Tom Robinson is convicted of rape solely because of the color of his skin. Likewise, the controversial “Scottsboro Boys” trial consisted of the same problems. In both of these trials, the alleged victims have …show more content…
The trials took up to six years and were rather repetitive with the verdicts being reached and the testimonies. The alleged crime occurred on a train crossing the Alabama border. The alleged victims were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. The nine black men found guilty were later known as the “Scottsboro Boys” (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). On the train there were many white youths and a gang of blacks. The white youths were said to have been forced off the train by the gang of blacks. All except for one: Orville Gilley (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). The alleged victims claimed that it was 12 blacks that raped them. Six to each girl, but only nine were caught (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). The reason the trials took so long was because when a case is lost the losing party can appeal to a higher court. The Scottsboro defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, and although the Supreme Court does not have to hear the appeals, it did because the case regarded important questions about the 6th and 14th amendments (Horne …show more content…
The evidence of innocence was placed right in front of the jury, and they still managed to reach a guilty verdict. On April of 1932, Ruby Bates testifies on behalf of the defense. Ruby Bates claims that the defendants did not rape her, nor did they even speak to her. This was not enough to convince the jury of the innocence of the Scottsboro Boys (Linder, “Trial Excerpt of Ruby Bates”). In To Kill a Mockingbird the 9 year old main character adds up the fact that: “If her right eye was blacked and she was beaten mostly on the right side of the face, it would tend to show that a left-handed person did it” (Lee 238). This reveals the fact that the evidence was rather simple, but the jury was too prejudice and bias to take it into account. In both cases someone was being coached into lying. “Victoria said to me that I must remember to tell the same story as she was telling me.” Ruby said this on behalf of her testimony for the defendants, but once again the statement was disregarded (Linder, “Trial Excerpt of Ruby Bates”). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus starts to question Mayella and she seems nervous and hesitant to how she will respond: “‘Did you scream first at your father instead of at Tom Robinson? Was that it?’ No answer. ‘Who beat you up? Tom Robinson or your father?’ No answer” (Lee
Racism and prejudiced views, although they still exist today, used to have huge negative impacts on the way people used to live back in the 1930’s. The Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal.” Although that was said and implied, the right was still robbed from others because of the color of their skin. The novel written by Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird perfectly portrays this in a court case set in the 1930’s where a man Tom Robinson is convicted of rape solely because of the color of his skin. Likewise, the controversial “Scottsboro Boys” trial consisted of the same problems. In both of these trials, the alleged victims have …show more content…
The trials took up to six years and were rather repetitive with the verdicts being reached and the testimonies. The alleged crime occurred on a train crossing the Alabama border. The alleged victims were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. The nine black men found guilty were later known as the “Scottsboro Boys” (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). On the train there were many white youths and a gang of blacks. The white youths were said to have been forced off the train by the gang of blacks. All except for one: Orville Gilley (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). The alleged victims claimed that it was 12 blacks that raped them. Six to each girl, but only nine were caught (Linder, “The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys”). The reason the trials took so long was because when a case is lost the losing party can appeal to a higher court. The Scottsboro defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, and although the Supreme Court does not have to hear the appeals, it did because the case regarded important questions about the 6th and 14th amendments (Horne …show more content…
The evidence of innocence was placed right in front of the jury, and they still managed to reach a guilty verdict. On April of 1932, Ruby Bates testifies on behalf of the defense. Ruby Bates claims that the defendants did not rape her, nor did they even speak to her. This was not enough to convince the jury of the innocence of the Scottsboro Boys (Linder, “Trial Excerpt of Ruby Bates”). In To Kill a Mockingbird the 9 year old main character adds up the fact that: “If her right eye was blacked and she was beaten mostly on the right side of the face, it would tend to show that a left-handed person did it” (Lee 238). This reveals the fact that the evidence was rather simple, but the jury was too prejudice and bias to take it into account. In both cases someone was being coached into lying. “Victoria said to me that I must remember to tell the same story as she was telling me.” Ruby said this on behalf of her testimony for the defendants, but once again the statement was disregarded (Linder, “Trial Excerpt of Ruby Bates”). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus starts to question Mayella and she seems nervous and hesitant to how she will respond: “‘Did you scream first at your father instead of at Tom Robinson? Was that it?’ No answer. ‘Who beat you up? Tom Robinson or your father?’ No answer” (Lee