James Craig Anderson was an African American male, in his late forties, who was murdered in what was classified as a hate crime. In Jackson, Mississippi on a Sunday morning, June 26, 2011, a group of white teenagers had been drinking all night and were on a mission, specifically seeking out a black person to cause harm to. James Anderson happened to be in a parking lot, near his car, when the group of teenagers pulled up and started to beat him while yelling racial slurs at him as well as yelling, “White power”. The teens then proceeded to hop in their truck and encouraged the driver to run over the victim, James Anderson, causing his immediate death. James Anderson was a well loved and respected member of his community, who attended church…
In 1937, Frank Palko was tried for the crimes of robbing a liquor store as well as shooting and killing two police officers chasing him down. Palko was then convicted of second-degree murder. The state opened a second trial when evidence of a confession which was not shown in the first trial was admitted, thus Palko was then convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Palko appealed, claiming the state had violated his Fifth Amendment right to the protection against double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is being put on trial for the same crime twice. The Court created the “fundamental rights” to guide decisions about incorporating specific rights in the Bill of Rights under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that would…
As this was a case brought up by the state of Nevada, there were criminal charges that were filed against the defendant Taukitoku, those being three counts of murder with the use of a firearm as well as four counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The murder with the use of a firearm charges against Taukitoku were brought up for the killings of Charles Kelly, Derek Jensen, and Nathaniel Viljoen with a .380 Taurus semi-automatic handgun. The four counts of assault with a deadly weapon were for the killings of the three men and pointing the gun at Annetria Scott, another woman who was attending the party. Since Taukitoku’s trial took place in a criminal court, jury unanimity was required to uphold his guilt. Similarly, the state was required to prove that the evidence of Taukitoku’s crimes were beyond a reasonable doubt, i.e., a certainty of 98%, to be convicted.…
The Bell, California corruption trial pertains to a group of city officials who misappropriated more than five million dollars of public funds (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). These officials were receiving compensation for conducting phantom meeting, wrote their own employment contracts without the approval of the City Counsel, and authorized approximately two million dollars in loans to their selves (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). To grasp the corruption of the city officials we need analyze the median annual income of the residents of Bell. The median annual income for the residents of Bell is less than thirty-five thousand dollars annually, and Bell’s City Manager Robert Rizzo annual base salary was 787,638 (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). Additionally, Bell’s Chief of Police Randy Adams earned 457,000 annually, and the council members of Bell earned 96,000 annually when the average salary for council members in similar-sized cities is 4,800 annually (CNN Wire Staff, 2010). Ultimately, this lead to the conviction of five elected officials for…
Inherently Unequal by Lawrence Goldstone, reveals how innocent African American men are executed by a lynch mob in Coweta County, Georgia. This article displays a sense of unfairness between the whites and black in the 18th Century. Although it is not the exact same situation, I have had an experience quite similar. Around the year of 2010, a family member of mine was arrested because they were accused of assisting in a murder in spite of the fact that they were out of town the time that this incident occurred. By reading this article, I notice that it connects to my history class as it explains how laws can be unequal and how African Americans were treated unfairly.…
The case, of which I choose to present, is that of Emmet Till. In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old African-American Emmett Till had gone on vacation from Chicago to visit family in Mississippi. He was shopping at a store owned which was owned by Roy and Carolyn Bryant and someone said that Emmett Till whistled at Mrs. Bryant, a white woman. At some point around August 28, Emmett Till was kidnapped, beaten, shot in the head, had a large metal fan tied to his neck with barbed wire, and was thrown into the Tallahatchie River. His body was soon recovered, and an investigation was opened. It took less than four weeks for the case to go to trial; Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were accused of the murder of which an all-white, all male…
The second chapter of Eyes on the Prize, Standing for Justice discusses segregated South mostly Mississippi and the rising blacks murdered. Its primary focus Emmet Till reviewed the story of what led to his killing and the proceedings after his death. The chapter started with the Supreme Court case of Brown V.S. Board of Education, which desegregate public schools in America. Following the ruling, Mississippians did not welcome the decision, and the lack of court orders showed the government’s actual interest. Even the President of the United States, President Eisenhower did not endorse either side but made that clear when he made a comment about Earl Warren. Noticing the rising threat of African Americans, as the population had more blacks…
Looking back on the trial about Emmett Till it is hard to support the way that everything turned out. I remember the terrible amounts of discrimination that occurred. Going back the story went as told. Emmett Till to me was just an innocent boy. The two men who murdered him should not have been innocent. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy who was brutally murdered. The reason was horrific and completely not understandable. Emmett Till was from Chicago and wasn’t used to the tremendous segregation that happened in Mississippi at the time. Emmett walked into a grocery store just like any normal person would. The event that was so claimed “wrong” was that he was so called flirting with a white woman who worked at the grocery store. A few nights after the incident the woman’s husband come to Emmett’s house and took him away. The woman’s husband along with the father in law of the woman murdered Till. They beat him and gouged out his eyes. After that they tied a cotton gin around his neck and threw him into the Tallahassee River. 3 days later his body was found. His mother was extremely devastated and decided to have an open casket funeral to show how brutally her son was beaten. Many went to his funeral and saw the body. Unfortunately many people didn’t believe it and started to support the killers.…
Several days after 14 year old Emmett Till walked into a convenience store and supposedly harassed a white woman, his body was being fished out of the tallahatchie river. This young boy was brutally slain and was eventually held accountable in trial, while his white murderers walked away. In a time of immense racism these kinds of crimes were seen often, but not to this extent.…
On January 29, 2016, Mr.Kurose, Waianae high school’s vice principal, had recently passed. He was savagely killed, but in this investigation there was a limited amount of evidence to identify the criminal. On the day of the homicide, Mr.Kurose had last seen four other teachers, and they are now suspects in this case. Their names are Ms. J Megahan, Ms. J Moriwaki, Ms. M Oshiro, and Mr. M Ratcliffe. Each of the four teachers each had a reason for killing Mr.Kurose. However, looking over all the evidence we have Ms.Oshiro seems like a questionable suspect. Oshiro is the main suspect mainly because of her motive, opportunity, and character.…
During the period in time covered in Arc of Justice the Great Migration is in full swing. Myriads of blacks are leaving the South and Jim Crow in search of work and opportunity. The story begins in 1925 Detroit, when Dr. Ossian Sweet attempts to move his family out of the ghetto into a bungalow located in an all white, working-class neighborhood. Suspecting that his neighbors would not take kindly to his arrival Sweet brings nine men and arsenal of guns with him. When the mob does indeed form outside the bungalow, and the police do nothing to deter their violence, Sweet’s younger brother Henry fires into the crowd killing one man and injuring another. The eleven black adults in the home including Sweet's wife, were then taken to jail and charged with first-degree murder.…
In the late 19th century, Ida B. Wells dedicated most of her life to spreading the word about the horrific nature of lynching in the American South. Wells was a journalist, teacher, rights activist, and a public speaker. As an African American woman in the south during this time, Ida B. Wells was able to use her status as journalist to expose to the general public the true facts of lynching cases that suggested black wrongdoings. Wells used cases from all over America to convey the innocence of African American lynching victims. There was a huge double standard between whites and black on the premise of crime. Although white men also participated in heinous acts, they were far less punished compared to their black neighbors. The majority of the cases being brought up at the time suggested that African American men were violating white women. Many violent white men would choose to murder an African American because they suspected he had been “criminally intimate”1 with a white women. In some instances, the reason for lynching was totally personal and obviously took place just to make a statement and “keep the nigger down”2 and the white men would justify it by claiming that the African American was wrong or barbaric. Because lynching is unlawful and without a trial, the accused stood little to no chance in seeking justice. Wells tries to make it clear that white women were to blame just as much as the black men who were involved in the affairs, and that in most of the situations the women were consenting or even initiating the intimate acts. When trying expose the truth about these issues, Wells and others who spoke up were warned and told off by the white men’s press. Even though it was evident that the southern white population was unhappy about the claims being made against lynching, Wells made it clear that she had a specific purpose to disprove the assertions being made against her people.…
Jesse Williams’ speech in 2012 opens American’s eyes on the racial hate crimes occurring in society now. He brings up specific people who had died due to hatred crimes such as Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, etc. Williams also preaches, “Freedom is somehow always conditional here. ‘You’re free,’ they keep telling us. But she would have been alive if she hadn’t acted so… free”…
The Scottsboro Trial and the trial of Tom Robinson are almost identical in the forms of bias shown and the accusers that were persecuted. The bias is obvious and is shown throughout both cases, which took place in the same time period. Common parallels are seen through the time period that both trials have taken place in and those who were persecuted and why they were persecuted in the first place. The thought of "All blacks were liars, and all blacks are wrongdoers," was a major part of all of these trails. A white person 's word was automatically the truth when it was held up to the credibility of someone whom was black. Both trials were perfect examples of how the people of Alabama were above the law and could do whatever they wanted to the black people and get away with it. In both trials lynch mobs were formed to threaten the black people who were accused. Judge Hornton tried many times to move the case to a different place so that a fair trial could take place and not be interrupted by the racist people. Finally was granted to move the case even though the lynch mobs threatened to kill everyone who was involved in the case if it were to be moved. In this essay the bias and racism in both trials are going to be clarified and compared to each other.…
He wanted to demonstrate that Brown not only raised new obstacles to segregation in legal civil social contexts but also challenged the assumption that there was no option but loyalty to the status quo. He then goes on to discuss the important work of lawyers who started the legal fight for racial integration decades before the Brown decision, the obstacles they faced and overcame, and the disappointment they eventually experienced, as they saw a critical decision weakened not only by the legislative and executive branches of the government but by the same Court, as its membership to conservatives who turned their backs on the mandate articulated in Brown. Finally he brings into this book his personal reflections on Brown during his lifetime. Ogletree recounts his story through the various stages of maturity and self discoveries he underwent and takes the reader on that journey. He begins with his childhood encounters with race, his experiences in college and law schools as a beneficiary of Brown and affirmative action programs, and the impact that the end of legal segregation had in his life. He comes to the conclusion that "To be blind to race is to be blind to reality," and that this country will always be divided into two nations separated by race, income and opportunity because of the race relations…