Comparing The Scottsboro Trial And Tom Robinson's Trial
TKAM and the Scottsboro Case Paper
The Scottsboro Case is known to many. It is a significant case involving racism, lynching, segregation, and the Jim Crow laws. The case started on March 25, 1931, when two white women accused nine black men of rape while on a train headed to Jackson County, Alabama. The trial lasted years and ended with an unconstitutional verdict of guilty against the defendants. “Scottsboro captured South’s racism and the disturbance of the Great Depression.” (Scottsboro Trials). The Scottsboro Trials and Tom Robinson’s trial in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee have many similarities. With the similarities there are differences too. The stories that the people involved tell is one. In the case …show more content…
There was no evidence to prove the women’s stories that the black men had actually raped them. In Tom Robinson’s trial it was pointed out that Mayella Ewell had bruises around her neck showing that someone had deliberately attempted to strangle her with BOTH hands. Mayella classified that she was beaten by Tom Robinson but she was not one hundred percent assured that it was really Mr. Robinson. Tom Robinson was then questioned about his left arm. He informed the court room that when he was younger he got in an accident that prevented any use of his arm. Even that evidence proving that he was immobile in his left arm still did not fluctuate the jury’s opinion on the verdict. The Scottsboro trial also had no evidence that the women had been raped. There were no traces of forced rape or bruises on either one of the girls. In addition, the trials were also unfair. They were biased because of failure to take in fact the defendants input of what had actually happened. There was virtually no evidence. The evidence they had was immaterial. This was in fact of the Great Depression, the Jim Crow laws, segregation, and racism toward the African American men. These factors all contributed to a one-sided trial resulting in the death of the
The Scottsboro Case is known to many. It is a significant case involving racism, lynching, segregation, and the Jim Crow laws. The case started on March 25, 1931, when two white women accused nine black men of rape while on a train headed to Jackson County, Alabama. The trial lasted years and ended with an unconstitutional verdict of guilty against the defendants. “Scottsboro captured South’s racism and the disturbance of the Great Depression.” (Scottsboro Trials). The Scottsboro Trials and Tom Robinson’s trial in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee have many similarities. With the similarities there are differences too. The stories that the people involved tell is one. In the case …show more content…
There was no evidence to prove the women’s stories that the black men had actually raped them. In Tom Robinson’s trial it was pointed out that Mayella Ewell had bruises around her neck showing that someone had deliberately attempted to strangle her with BOTH hands. Mayella classified that she was beaten by Tom Robinson but she was not one hundred percent assured that it was really Mr. Robinson. Tom Robinson was then questioned about his left arm. He informed the court room that when he was younger he got in an accident that prevented any use of his arm. Even that evidence proving that he was immobile in his left arm still did not fluctuate the jury’s opinion on the verdict. The Scottsboro trial also had no evidence that the women had been raped. There were no traces of forced rape or bruises on either one of the girls. In addition, the trials were also unfair. They were biased because of failure to take in fact the defendants input of what had actually happened. There was virtually no evidence. The evidence they had was immaterial. This was in fact of the Great Depression, the Jim Crow laws, segregation, and racism toward the African American men. These factors all contributed to a one-sided trial resulting in the death of the